Vampire Diaries: I Bite Back
by Acrobat Dances a Playful Tune
Summary: Klaus is back, and with a vengeance to match. The veil between the world of the living and the world of the dead opened, and now they're all coming back - everyone they ever knew, fought and feared is coming back. Game on, Elena.
1. Chapter 1

**The Vampire Diaries**

_Something was wrong. _

Elena put her journal down on the windowsill and moved cautiously to the door, extending her hearing throughout the house in order to pick up on any loose floorboards or any doors or windows opening – she could hear nothing, whatever the noise had been whoever had made it had gone: or was stood on the opposite side of the door. She stalked back across her room and grabbed a heavy-book; she didn't have many weapons as such at her disposal so the book would have to be protection enough. She turned the knob and opened the door, springing back – in case something flew at her – but relenting when she realized that there was no-one on the landing.

She crept across the hall to Jeremy's room and pushed open the door and felt the book drop from her hands, in a blur of emotion she crossed the room and turned Jeremy over, he was still warm after death but she could tell from his neck it had been snapped and implicitly understood what that meant, she scanned his wrist for his ring and swore loudly when she saw he wasn't wearing it. She dropped to the floor in tears beside Jeremy, clutching his hand, and then flew away from it as she felt it clutch back, he leaned awake in bed as though it had been a bad dream and Elena heard the sickening crack as his neck righted itself on his shoulders. He smiled at her warmly as though nothing was the matter.

"Jer…how do you feel?" Elena ventured, maintaining her distance, she had to get out of the room – if Jeremy bit her then he wouldn't have a choice and she could tell even though he was her brother that wouldn't stop him being hungry for her blood – the thirst would be overpowering, it would block out any other warnings or common sense, it would just call him to blood.

"A little…thirsty," he admitted but did not move, Elena remained wary but stopped edging closer to the door, "Elena am I-"

"-not yet, you haven't had blood," Elena blurted out before chiding herself for pointing out what he needed to do to transition, now she would have to make the decision, she needed to get out of there, "Jer do you-" She saw tears form in Jeremy's eyes and then begin streaming down his face, her maternal streak urged her to rush across and hug him tightly in her arms but she resisted the call.

"Klaus." He mouthed and Elena immediately turned and fled, slamming the door behind him and running into her room, shutting her door behind her, she flipped open her phone and hammered in Stefan's number, waiting as the tones droned on in her ear until he picked up, "Get here – now." She paused and waited for panicking minutes – every noise was Jeremy breaking free from his room, preceding to bite her, every creak on the floorboard him edging closer, every sound at the window Klaus returned to break in and turn her too, she turned in frightened panic when the window jostled and then realized it was Stefan, he prized the window open and slipped inside, wrapping her in a protective embrace, immediately Elena felt her fear for herself abating, though her worry for Jeremy lingered, deep in her stomach.

"What is it?" Stefan probed, stroking the back of her head lovingly, "Shh…Shh, Elena what is it?"

She looked up into his deep, dark eyes and she felt herself removed of worry and felt herself become rapidly composed, "He's been turned…and he said it was by…Klaus." She felt Stefan stiffen at the news, as though a current had shot up his back sending him rigid in her arms, the stroking stopped and she felt the arms slip away from her as her boyfriend processed the news that the Werewolf-Vampire hybrid presumed dead had returned from the other side.

"Did he…?" Stefan prodded, searching Elena's neck for bite-marks but she shook her head, he checked her wrists for good measure regardless. "What do you want me to do?"

"I…I don't know – he's probably better at your place where you can keep an eye on him," Elena looked into his eyes for reassurance, he returned her look with one of agreement, "it will have to be me…when he turns I mean…I'm not gonna let him ruin anyone else's life."

"Are you sure you want him to turn – do you even know what he wants?" Stefan reminded and Elena frowned indecisively, she'd simply presumed he would want to live on…to be with Bonnie…to be with the others…simply to ensure that he lived a real life, "It's a big decision for you to take on your own for him Elena…I think he's old enough now that you can trust him to make his own choice."

"Thank you for tonight," Elena confided, kissing him tenderly on the cheek, "he's in his room…I'll call Bonnie to come over and I can break the news to her, I don't know how she's going to take this." Stefan nodded and left her in her bedroom while she quickly text Bonnie, she crossed to Jeremy's bedroom and found Stefan looking at an empty bed and then towards the open-window, Elena frowned deeply – Jeremy was gone, a new Vampire unleashed upon a town of unsuspecting people. She considered the parallels to Stefan as a ripper and found herself running towards the front door at exactly the same time as Stefan.

. . .

Caroline hovered at the bar and sipped nervously at her cocktail, she wasn't even sure why she'd asked Matt to make it – maybe to warm her up after the cold night and the experience they'd gone through…maybe to reassure herself that she was still alive: that she'd made it through it all, maybe to reassure herself that this was _her _Matt, that he had pulled through Jeremy's ordeal unscathed and presumably been saved by Olivia, that this wasn't just some phantom from the other side, from the veil dividing the worlds of the living and the dead, here to torment her about her feelings for her love – for the one boy that had ever made her feel truly alive, made her feel truly joyful and truly remorseful – the one she had given her heart to.

He rested his head on his wrists as he looked across the bar to her – the Grill was deserted and it was so surreal to be completely alone with Matt, like she'd wanted to be for so long and have nothing to say to him…other than to order a Martini…something she'd never had before just on a whim to see if her boyfriend…ex-boyfriend…_boy-who-she-loved-but-hadn't-determined-their-relationship_ really was the same person he had been before. He seemed singularly unfazed by the fact that he had nearly died, curiously detached that Jeremy Gilbert had tried to kill him, relaxed to the point that she was actually unsettled by his serene disposition.

She swirled the olives and looked him in the eye across the bar, "Do you…feel different?"

"I feel fine Car," he said turning away to ensure that all the bottles were in the right place, "why do I look different?" He turned around and smiled at her with that sweet heartthrob smile that had made Caroline feel so warm inside, feel so heartened, it was the kind of smile that made even the coldest hearts melt – the kind of smile that normally broke hearts but in Matt's case it was only his heart that had ever been broken, first by Elena and then by Caroline herself when he'd discovered she was a Vampire though that was inadvertent – she hadn't meant for the news to break his heart and she hadn't meant to become a Vampire. It was simply an unfortunate circumstance of being one of Elena Gilbert's friends that you had to have some supernatural trait.

"No you look…exactly the same, exactly as handsome," she said almost absent-mindedly and then fixed him with one of the piercing gazes that he couldn't wriggle out of so easily if he wanted to avoid her on a topic, "Matt…what's going on…between us…with us…what are we? Because I _really_ need some clarity you know? I mean are you done with me, are we over? Because every time I think that we're over or that you've moved on we end up…getting drawn closer together."

"I'm…look I'm sorry…I haven't been fair or really handled the whole Vampire thing all that well…if I was understanding and had been a real man then I would have stood by you and helped you…and…I didn't…and I wish I could say it was because I was scared or I didn't know how to help you but it wasn't that Caroline," he looked her straight in the eyes and at that point she knew the relationship was over and his heart would never be hers again, even if he might own hers forever, "somewhere deep inside of me I felt…uncomfortable around you…maybe even…maybe I was _disgusted_ or something…I just…I'm not like Elena…I don't just accept things like that so easily Car…I'm…I'm sorry but I think it's time that we just…parted ways. I want to stay friends but I know…and I think you to do that it'd just be too _hard_."

Caroline nodded and held back her tears, stowing them elsewhere to be let out another time…she wanted so very badly to cry over Matt, to let out all her pain and anguish…let away all her love in the form of other emotions…allow her personal energy to just diffuse into the air around her and leave her, bereft of love for Matt, bereft of love for anyone, a robot that could move without attachment or passions toward other people. She felt a different emotion in that instance though – danger. She could feel every single nerve in her body reaching out for the source of the disturbance, every fibre of her being on alert as her senses extended through the building and she hollowed in on it – the bathroom window – now forced open, someone was advancing from the other side. She had crossed the room in the blink of an eye but unfortunately fell for the typical trip of getting smashed in the face by the exploding door of the room and carried across to the opposite side of the Grill, momentarily dazed. She heard the thing crossed the room and heart Matt yell as though there was a struggle and then groan as though in continuing and momentary pain. Caroline threw the door back off herself and righted herself spying Jeremy Gilbert, once more drinking at Matt before dropping his limp body to the floor and turning to face Caroline.

She ran at him – a snarl escaping her mouth as she lunged toward him, knocking him into a set of chairs and then finding him stronger than her, as he rose to his feet, grabbed her face and smashed her to the floor, she looked up as he snapped a chair-leg and turned it toward her, moving to prompt it and then paused as his hand was arrested and the steak removed from it forcibly, he then dropped to the floor – Caroline recognized the sign of a mental aneurism: did that mean Jeremy was a Vampire again? Had something gone wrong after the ceremony – did he continue to have a part of the Beast within him?

She looked up for her saviour and spotted Matt, standing staring at his hands intently and then he looked to her – worry etched on her face, she flipped open her phone and hammered in Elena's number, allowing it ring out before she answered on the other end.

"Hey it's Caroline…yeah…yeah he's at the Grill with me and Matt…how did you," she paused as Elena interjected again, "no sure…something happened to him but he's fine now, we'll look after him till you get here." Matt raised an eyebrow at her and she shrugged, "She's bringing Stefan and Bonnie – should I call Damon?" Matt shrugged and gave her an _you know this better than I do _look and her eyes narrow offensively, her sadness of before forgotten in the adrenaline of the momentary danger shared between them, "I'll just text him." She neglected to text Tyler – she probably had better leave it, bringing him into the situation between her and Matt at this point wouldn't help, she wasn't just going to jump into the Werewolf's arms…she wasn't even sure how she felt about Tyler…she wasn't even sure what it was she was meant to do.

. . .

Tyler slid out of his bed and crept along the hallway to the bathroom – he was tired and needed the embrace of sleep but he was unbearably warm and even with the window open in his room he was burning up: it probably had something to do with the proximity of the Full Moon – a few days away but he was becoming more agitated and needed his rest for that ordeal – not that he wasn't glad to have survived almost being killed and then be brought back to life by an angel…or whatever it had been, but sometimes being a lycanthrope consumed everything. He was going through one of those all-consuming periods.

He turned on the light and bent down, splashing his face with water and then froze as he spotted the smirking, blonde-haired figure in the reflection of the mirror, he turned around and Klaus was gone, running wild in the Mansion. Tyler crept from the doorway and walked in a controlled but swift way – hoping to move quickly without having Klaus appear out of nowhere…his mind couldn't even process the fact that Klaus couldn't be here and he should be dead, all it could think was autopilot him to safety – if he got to his room and bolted the door he could be safe, or at least safer than he already was.

He swung inside the door to his room and closed it, sinking to the floor, relieved that he had made it one piece, and then he heard a man clear his throat behind him.

.

Damon wasn't even sure why he was drinking with Alaric – was he too old? After more than a century of being a twenty-something he had developed an instinct for when he was becoming stale, and sipping Scotch with a High School History Teacher didn't feature into his dark, alluring disposition which he hoped would continue to lure him dozens of young, unsuspecting girls and there willing necks for his pleasure. Perhaps it was because as the elder brother he felt like it was a token of achievement to be able to do this, he sipped at his Scotch pensively as he regarded Alaric who had seemed jumpy since he'd gotten a text a few minutes before.

"If I didn't no better," Damon said in one of his voices that started of calm and controlled and gradually transitioned into menace, "I'd say that that text rattled your cage Ric – have you got something to hide, something you want to keep from me?" he prodded, allowing his eyes to grow a little with the occasional world, adding an increased hint of menace.

"I'm not the one that wants to hide things," Alaric replied curtly with a kind of fortitude that Damon wouldn't have given him the credit for having, "maybe you should look a little closer to home than me?"

"Stefan?"

Alaric didn't offer a reply.

"Elena."

He remained stubborn and unrevealing.

"Ric," Damon said smiling in a way that was mock-friendly but laced with a sinister edge, "either you tell me who's keeping things from me or I rip your heart out right now." He said, hovering his hand above the spot on Alaric's chest.

"They're at the grill – Jeremy's a Vampire." Alaric murmured, "They thought I should keep you away – you know, in case you do anything rash."

Damon smiled and in the blink of an eye he was gone and Alaric was alone, he dialled in the number and let the tones ring out on the cell-phone.

"He did exactly what you predicted he would, I'd guess five minutes before he's with you." He estimated, Alaric rose to his feet as there was a knock at the door and crossed to it and opened, scanning for the person who'd rung the bell and dropped to the floor at a whimper as he spotted Tyler, naked, and shivering lying on the floor, bound in a kind of shimmering, metallic net, Alaric drew him in side and looked at Tyler, he was covered in cuts and bruises and blood was trickling out of each wound on his body, slowly but perceptibly, he lifted the phone, "I need help, _now_."

.

"What happened to Bonnie?" Caroline asked as Stefan and Elena entered through the back door, crossing quickly into the main part of the room and crouching beside Jeremy who remained glazed over – unconscious, after what had been done to him – after what _Matt_ did to him Caroline corrected herself though she didn't want to venture what Matt had actually done, until she'd discussed it with him: that was beyond human capability, Jeremy should've been able to snap Matt cleanly in half – he very nearly had snapped her in half.

"She had to go," Elena deflected, she didn't want to say anything that might worry Caroline, the whole appearance of Tyler on the doorstep had been unsettling, the fact that she could predict Klaus had something to do with it was just filling her with a growing sense of danger, of evil, pervading all around as she had felt in the weeks before the return of Giuseppe, she'd hope she'd seen the back of it, "and Damon's on his way too," it seemed prudent to tell them he was on the way, she wasn't even sure why she'd kept him away…probably because he was too volatile around fresh Vampires that had just turned, she'd also carefully observed a growing urge to protect Jeremy growing within Damon – something that probably owed to his feelings about having neglected his relationship to Stefan but was also an outlet for his unrequited feelings of affection for Elena, she mused about that before being drawn back to the situation and dropping to Jeremy's side, stroking gingerly at his face, "what happened to him?"

Caroline spotted Matt moving to talk and interjected, "I knocked him out…he was…strong but I managed to outmanoeuvre him, brain versus brawn." She shrugged smiling sweetly as if the issue had been no trouble, she caught Matt's eye for a moment and saw a fear in them – an anxiety – did she not want the others to know? Was he worried about what she was doing – whether somehow she didn't want them to know anything – did he think she was trying to be controlling?

Elena stumbled backward on her hands as Jeremy's eyes flew open and she even let out a cry before getting back to her feet and moving to stand above her brother, Stefan dropped beside him defensively, Caroline on the other side ready to grab them. Jeremy took a few deep breaths: he was panicking gasping for air and then settled, swinging his head around scanning for someone or something and then he breathed a single world, "Klaus."

.

He watched on as the building exploded into flames, like an enormous many-tentacled beast the fire smashed out of the windows, licking toward the sky, swirling wildly, like a crazed animal, desperate to break free from its bonds, bracing against its prison and gradually tearing it to pieces. Klaus licked his lips with glee and then looked to his loyal servants – Greta and Maddox and smiled at them, his faithful lieutenants – completely terrified of him and what he would do to them, completely loyal because what other choice did they have? He would just find someone more powerful than them, someone to replace them, to fill the hole in the line – and then they would die.

Fear was his greatest tool, and he intended to exploit it.

.

Hope you liked my new Chapter,

I really liked writing for TVD first time around so hopefully it'll be as good this time,

Reviews and Responses very welcome and accepted,

Acrobat

X


	2. Chapter 2

**The Vampire Diaries**

.

"What happened to him?" quizzed Bonnie, dropping to Tyler's side on the floor and surveying his wounds – the gashes were scattered across his body at varying depths but all were bleeding – it was probable that there was some wolf-bane exacerbating the cuts too.

"I just found him on my doorstep," Alaric replied, still mildly taken aback at the entire experience, "I tried to bandage some of the worse ones but the blood just keeps coming – is it magical?"

Bonnie stretched her hands over Tyler's body ignoring the question – if it was magic it was a kind she had never encountered before, a type that was dark and menacing and completely evil, she felt a shudder as she tried to cast only the weakest of healing spells over the cuts, she could feel the darkness radiating around them, encapsulating Tyler's entire body – as if to express that point he let out an anguished scream as she passed her hand over his right-leg and the cuts there began to bleed even more profusely – and intoxicating it, making a poisonous atmosphere around him. "Get me fresh water," Bonnie ordered without politeness, "and candles." Alaric nodded disappearing momentarily while Bonnie tried a different spell which at least slowed Tyler's bleeding and she hoped if it worked as intended would begin to mildly alleviate his pain – or at least convince his pain receptors that things were getting better – if she couldn't physically alleviate the pain then she would have to mentally influence Tyler to think he was getting better.

Alaric returned carrying a bowel of water and a cluster of candles which he lay out haphazardly around Tyler like a chalk drawing of a dead-body on the ground, they flickered to life of their own accord as Bonnie focused upon them and then she reached into the bowel of water, wetting her hands and then sprinkling droplets all across Tyler's body, he yelled out at first as they sizzled on contact with the cuts but that gradually subsided as the droplets began to attach themselves to his cuts – she had never conducted a purity spell but at least this seemed to be working, she applied the same technique again, sprinkling him in water droplets and spreading them evenly across his body by allowing the droplets to fall freely from her hands across his cuts and wounds, drawing out the wolfsbane – evidently the blade that had been used had been sheathed in wolfsbane, or else the cuts would not be so severe or give the false impression that magic was being used to cause the wounds which though she had drawn the majority of the poison out were less deadly were continuing their debilitating effect. Tyler's healing should have taken effect by now – clearly the wolfsbane had incapacitated or slowed that too.

She picked up the nearest candle and pivoted it so that the wax that had collected at the tip began pouring towards Tyler, she arrested its fall and allowed it to drift out into separate clumps which began to spin individually as she began murmuring the words of the spell, the wax drifted towards the wounds, separating into different parts until it began to line the various wounds and fill the deep gouges in Tyler's skin, she then reached for the water and sprinkled a few of the droplets over it and then took a deep breath and opened her eyes, surveying Tyler's body – he looked completely healed apart from the remaining surface scars of his ordeal. He looked up at her, his eyes vast and awed; he sat up on his elbows and surveyed his body.

"What did you-"

"-a simple spell," Bonnie interjected cutting him off, "or simple spells – you'll probably be sore once they wear off in a couple of hours but until then you'll be fine, I couldn't get rid of those scars but the wolfsbane had already taken too much effect: how do you feel?"

"Dazed and a little groggy," he admitted a little too honestly as his head began pounding, "but I'm near the Full Moon so that's kinda normal."

Bonnie nodded and then Alaric crouched down beside her on the floor, "Do you remember who did this to you?"

Tyler shook his head vigorously and then slowed – a memory was coming the front of his mind, something that had been blocked out perhaps intentionally by himself because it was traumatic or unintentionally by someone else that had wanted the memory forgotten, "I was…up in the middle of the night…there was a noise and then," he paused, "sorry I must be imagining it…it's too _ridiculous_."

"What do you remember?" Alaric quizzed intently – in all his studies he'd never seen someone that could do something like that to a lycanthrope so close to the turning of their moon, they were at their strongest – admittedly with the blade clearly they could have done the damage but Tyler should've been able to defend himself and not be so completely and easily overwhelmed, he had clearly had enough strength to convey himself to Alaric's House…or had he been brought there by someone else?

"I think," he shrugged, "I think I remember seeing Klaus, okay?"

Bonnie exchanged a frightened look with Alaric and then hit call on Elena's number in her phone and listened to the tone's ringing out.

"Elena – we just found out," she let out a yell as an explosion consumed Elena's voice at the other end of the phone and she lost all grip on reality.

.

Damon sprinted across the garden and he could see the Grill – in his line of sight – he wanted to know why Elena had kept her out, did she still not trust him? At least that he could accept, but not being confident enough in how much he cared about her to keep a level-head and remain calm – that stung more painfully at his core. He paused to survey the Grill – he couldn't tell if they were assembled inside: approaching from the back you got a different view than the glowing, warm, inviting restaurant you did from the front. He so longed to be with Elena, so longed to be able to call her _his_, and he had been so close too – and then somehow it had slipped away, without him even noticing. And now she didn't even trust in his feelings for her enough to take him into her confidence, she might say it was because she didn't want to overcrowd Jeremy but he knew better – this was about how they responded to one another. The thought was lost in a tingling at the back of his head as he felt a warning thunder through his body, every single nerve attuning itself to his surroundings and then he swivelled round.

"Hello Damon," drawled Katherine, flashing him a perfect, intoxicating, alluring grin, she crossed the grass to stand near him and observe him, she smiled at him sweetly, condescendingly as though he were a little child and then allowed her eyes to flicker to the Grill and then back to him as she moved close to him and reached out a hand to touch his chest – although that was obviously a ruse – and then thought better of it, retracting her hand and standing back a little, "still chasing Elena? And I thought you had more self-respect."

"What are you doing here – we killed the Demon, we get rid of you – it was a win, win for everyone, why spoil it?" he fired back, he knew he shouldn't give her the satisfaction of a sparring match but unfortunately where Katherine was concerned it was all too irresistible not to raise to her bait – as Damon had been learning to his cost for more than a hundred years.

Katherine grinned and placed her hands on her hips, "Imagine your worst nightmare."

Subconsciously he found an image of Elena dying, writhing in agony flashed before his eyes and then he shook it off – he needn't give Katherine the satisfaction of a distraction, nor the satisfaction of being able to unsettle him and mess with his head, he centred himself in the present and brought one of his most intimidating glares to bear upon her, not that it phased her for a second, she might as well have admired her nails in defiance of the gesture.

Katherine's grin faltered slightly, "You won't humour me anymore?"

"I never humoured you, you controlled me." Damon fired back.

"Oh but you did," Katherine said, stalking around him in a narrow circle, "you were like a play-thing entangled in my web, you and Stefan – of course he had the sense to get out when he could, but," she closed toward him and rounded on him, extending a hand toward him, "you – you always came back to me, you still do, when I want you to," she grinned at him, "why break a tradition?"

"What do you want?" Damon demanded, becoming exasperated with her toying and desiring greatly to run a stake through her heart and extinguish life in the bitch once and for all, to watch life drain from her face as she yelled out in pain and left them all to their lives for the last time, and never came back, as though she disappeared into the sunset and then removed her ring, burning in the amber sunlight and falling away, just ashes, no longer able to bring harm to anyone.

"Just to give you a warning," she was smiling still broader now, it was unsettling to any normal person but Damon had managed to develop a personal antidote toward it that blocked out the most harmful aspects of it, "that concerns us both – but also to remind you that I'm still here Damon, I haven't left, I never leave and now I don't intend to, in fact I think I'm going to stick around in Mystic Falls, things are going to be like the old days – and it's going to be so entertaining, so very entertaining that you can't possibly imagine."

Damon tried to process what she was talking about but found it to confusing to debate and simply posed another question to her, "Care to clarify?" he said through almost clenched teeth, trying not to grit them in annoyance at her continuing presence.

"By all means," her smile reached now heights of gleaming, white, deadliness, "there all coming back Damon – Pearl, Anna, the town Vampires, every Vampire you ever killed, every Witch you ever killed, every Vampire you ever killed – there all coming back Damon – and did I forget to mention the crowning glory Damon? Everyone's favourite Werewolf-Vampire hybrid's back to life," she allowed that news to pass into Damon's mind and filter through to his fear receptors, "Klaus is back – and I guess since, you know, you killed him last time you'll be, undesirable number one."

Damon didn't have time to dwell on that fact, as the first shockwave hit them as the Grill exploded into flames behind them and he and Katherine were hurled head-over-heel into the woodland by the burst of energy, siphoning outward from the epicentre of the blast.

.

She couldn't move – no, she just thought she couldn't, her body had tried to shut itself down to prevent damage but it hadn't happened quickly enough, Elena felt feeling returning to her feet and looked around the room at the others, Caroline and Stefan were on the floor, both coming to their senses – Jeremy had fallen back into unconsciousness and Matt…seemed strangely resolute amongst the maelstrom, she rose to her feet with him at the centre of the whirlwind of flames, licking around the building wildly around them.

"Get them out," Elena yelled over the maelstrom, indicating Caroline and Stefan who were struggling amongst the blazing heat, he nodded moving toward Caroline and hooking her arm around his shoulder, easing her forwards towards one of the exit's which despite fire scattered across the floor remained in tact, Elena crossed the room, covering her mouth with a shirt to cut out the worst of the smoke as she bent beside Stefan and Jeremy, stroking caringly at her brother's forehead as she reached out and held Stefan's hand tightly, she relented from Jeremy and helped Stefan into a crouch, crossing the room as she looked up and spotted the fire spreading across the roof of the Grill – catching on the beams: at any moment they might all be lost. She delivered Stefan to Matt's returning arms and crossed back to Jeremy, trying to lift his lip body and hook his arm around her just as Matt had with Caroline a few seconds earlier – she had been semi-conscious, Jeremy was like a lead weight, his legs lying lifeless at his body, dragging along the floor.

She yelled out as a beam crashed down in front of them ablaze and tried to usher Jeremy backwards – the bathroom might be a possible way out: it might have escaped the worst of the blast and still be intact, a second beam smashed to the floor in front of them – trapping them. Elena coughed a little more and fell to the ground – weakened by the ferocity of the fire and struggling under Jeremy's weight as she tried and failed to move them back towards the first exit. She slumped to the floor and felt her grip on reality slipping away as she began to fade into the darkness, as she closed her eyes she was almost sure she heard Matt call out and then saw a strange, ethereal white light and then she was lost to unconsciousness.

The ground hurt as she smashed into it beyond the Grill, she looked up and could see Matt, Caroline and Stefan clustered around her protectively, she looked up at them and coughed a few times – sometimes so hard she was almost sure a lung might join them standing on the grassland outside the Grill – it was still burning, as if to affirm that notion another explosion rocked the building as she looked up into their eyes, "I'm fine," she deflected from their gazes, "what happened to Jeremy?" she looked around for her body and then he stalked out to join them, he held that same boyish, smirk that she recognized as her Jer but he was somehow darker, more mysterious, perhaps even _older_? She shook off that notion.

"How do you feel?" Matt quizzed, he seemed slightly perturbed – it wasn't the fire though or the explosion, was it her? Was there something different about her – sensitively she touched at her face in case it had been obscured by an enormous gash that she couldn't feel yet because she was still in shock; there was nothing different there, nor did she feel pained anymore as she should have after the fire, in fact she felt almost…perfect, more than perfect elated?

"I feel…really great," she admitted truthfully prompting disbelieving looks from the three Vampires – she shuddered at that thought, Jeremy as a _Vampire_ – had he turned, she looked toward Matt and frowned, she could see the fang-marks at his neck, she hadn't seen them before…Jeremy was a Vampire then, "I'm not lying," the only person who seemed to believe that was Matt who seemed once more to be forensically she stood forcefully and immediately regretted it – her head was spinning and her vision clouding, she stood still for a few moments and allowed the dizziness to pass over her. "How did we get out?" she had posed the question to Matt – he was clearly hiding _something_.

"You got Jeremy to the door, then you fell so I helped you the rest of the way and just laid you down here, you were out for like five minutes at most," Matt promised, "does it feel like _longer_?" Something about how he said that word revealed to Elena he was lying, it was the way he put emphasis upon it – she had known ever since they'd been little when Matt was lying, dating him had only increased her skills in knowing him inside and out and here was a classic example of Matt lying to her – although she couldn't place way.

"I guess not." She lied in a tone that only Matt would realize that she wasn't finished with the question, "Maybe we should head over to Ric's…he sounded…urgent on the phone."

.

Bonnie had wanted so very badly to race back to the Grill and find the others but she hadn't been sure enough in her skills to leave Tyler, as badly wounded as he was and as unsure she was of the magic she had used – besides she wasn't entirely confident in Alaric's nursing skills either – she was confident in Caroline and Stefan to get the other three out of there whatever had happened, they were strong and though she wasn't entirely sure how, somehow she felt sure that she would know if something truly awful had happened. They had found Tyler some briefs somewhere to put on and Alaric had gone to find him a blanket, Bonnie checked his head for his temperature – Werewolf warm, at least he was back at his natural temperature, he had risen rapidly above it before prompting a worry from her, now he felt better and perhaps she could float the Klaus idea with him some more – any delirium he might have experienced would've cleared by now, his memories ought to be in tact – or as in tact as the were going to be.

"You're feeling okay now right?"

Tyler bobbed his head affirmatively.

"How did…what did Klaus do to you?" Bonnie prodded – she understood it might be traumatic but right now she needed all the information she could get. "Did he-"

"-nothing like that," Tyler replied curtly, clearly seeming embarrassed Bonnie might suggest it but also scared at the mere possibility of it, "he was just taunting me again…and then…he had this big blade…it looked like a Samurai sword or something, he hit me and I went down and then he just laid into me…my cuts didn't really start hurting until I was carried by him…or someone else…and then he dropped me off outside Alaric's place."

"Did he say how he came back-"

"-it wasn't a Q & A," Tyler snapped and then frowned at his reaction, "sorry…no he didn't tell me anything…he was just…there."

"You just rest," Bonnie soothed, realising that pressing Tyler wouldn't help, she cast her head skyward at a noise and a mild groan, "Ric?" She crossed from the living room to the bottom of the stairs and called out again, "Alaric?" Still no answer. She frowned and swivelled around – the front door was wide open – had someone? – she would have heard them. She tested the first step and it creaked and she let out a hushed groan – there was the stealth option gone – she squeaked and creaked up the rest of them and then paused, the only door open was to what she guessed was Alaric's bedroom, she walked along to the end of it and spotted Alaric, sprawled on the floor, blood extracting from him – he was unconscious, she tested his neck – at least there was still a pulse, she stood back up and looked at the serviette on his bed, marked in literally blood red was a single letter, I.

The thought immediately resounded in her brain.

She heard Tyler yell out and sprinted from the room, down to the bottom floor and where she could see Tyler, she looked the two people up – a shaven-headed man, probably somewhere between his late twenties and early thirties, the other a woman – similar age with curled blonde locks: Jules, she recognized imperceptibly, she raised her hands to fell them both but didn't need to, in the blink of an eye they were both on the floor, syringes with only the barest traces of green liquid left in them speared into there backs, Bonnie turned around to face her oppressor.

"Isobel."

"Hello Bonnie."

.

Hope you liked Chapter 2,

Reviews and responses welcomed and appreciated,

Acrobat

X


	3. Chapter 3

**The Vampire Diaries**

"So what are you," Bonnie asked nervously stalking around her – she wasn't entirely sure whether Isobel would even harm her since though she didn't admit it or often show it she had some sort of respect or affection for Elena but at the same time she couldn't be entirely sure she wouldn't' harm her either, hence she kept her powers just at the biting point, so she could cause an aneurism and make a break for it, "spirit, ghost, phantom-"

"-well I've always preferred the term Vampire," Isobel declared triumphantly as she flexed her fangs menacingly – though not too menacingly, she recognized that the little Witch was quite powerful, she could sense that from this difference but the circling tactic was defensive, she could expect that some of Bonnie's friends would be there at any moment and she needed to get away – preferably with the little Werewolf in tow: a bargaining chip, "but you can call me what you want, since your one of Elena's friends."

Bonnie tried to read her as they continued circling, her eyes remained focus on her but her peripheral gaze was fixed somewhere else in the room – not on the two mature Werewolves, lying unconscious on the floor – they had just been obstacles she had taken down, and Alaric was upstairs – which left Tyler, clearly in pain lying on the floor, Bonnie sent a warning spell toward Isobel, one that wouldn't have done any damage if even it had hit her, just to warn her off. Isobel dodged the little spell, her nimble choice of black coat, jeans and boots allowing her ease of movement around the floor.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow: distraction was the order of the day, "Why do you want him?"

"I don't," Isobel grinned, "but I know _someone_ who will."

_Klaus_, Bonnie understood grimly. She speculated upon what horrific ideas Klaus would have about Tyler's future if he took the young Werewolf under his wing – would Tyler attack children or become Klaus's attack dog, striking at Vampires like a deranged beast until he was eventually killed by a Vampire that was too strong for him? Would he kill Caroline? She paused and realized this was all distraction, Isobel had the advantage now, being closer to the living room, if she timed it correctly a direct spell might rebound of the partially closed sliding doors that normally separated the room from the main-body of the house, the aneurism needed a clean line of sight, all Bonnie would need would be a second but in that time Isobel could have Tyler and be out the door – if she timed it right. And she could, Bonnie understood implicitly – it would be childsplay. Bonnie watched her and then saw it, Isobel's right leg turning, hurling herself behind the protection of the right door as Bonnie fired the first spell which rebounded, smashing into the banister and ripping it into little splinters, Bonnie was running now too as Isobel bent down to scoop up Tyler, grabbing him in her arms and picking him up, his back facing Bonnie as the second spell launched, smashing into Tyler's back prompting a yell. Isobel swung round the room in a circuit and darted out – the left door handicapping her now as she had to avoid it, putting her in Bonnie's line of sight. She focused upon her and watched as Isobel, collapsed to the floor, the aneurism plaguing at her brain. Bonnie bent down beside her and grinned, "I'm afraid you aren't going anywhere." Isobel snarled as she heard a car draw up beyond and spotted five figures, sprinting up the driveway – Caroline arrived first, dropping beside Tyler and looking at him, he winced as she touched at him – Matt waited at the edge of the doorway, watching – Bonnie could sense something different about him, though she wasn't entirely sure what, and then she spotted Elena, Stefan and lastly Jeremy…her Jeremy…now a Vampire forever who cruised into the room and assembled around Isobel, Bonnie moved behind her and then relented on the aneurism.

"Hello Elena," Isobel greeted, "you're looking well." Being motherly would in anyone else have seemed kind and sincere but in Isobel it came across as deeply unsettling to the point of making Elena subconsciously shift slightly toward Stefan for protection while her brother regarded Elena's birth mother, pondering Elena mused darkly upon what it would be like when he was as old a Vampire as she was.

"How are you back?" Elena demanded, at that point her eyes detected the smell of blood and she could see that the other three Vampires where all sniffing at the air, picking up that distinctive Werewolf scent – or scents since there were two which they did not recognize as Tyler: each had a distinctive over, one was more soft, almost flowery, the other harsh and malodorous – at least to Vampires. "How are they back?"

Isobel smiled, "I'd have thought that was obvious, Elena," her grin reached new heights of malevolence, "you always were such a smart girl after all," she paused seeing if it would sink in and frown, "although clearly you can't figure this one out – there is a veil between the land of the living and the dead, the strongest – the supernaturals crossed that veil last night and returned to this world, to this point – those that had ties to the area anyway, none of the others had something strong enough to pull them back through the crack. Every Vampire, Werewolf or Witch you ever knew or fought or killed is back – and that includes Klaus. It's been fun," she said sincerely enough, "but I have an appointment, lovely seeing you Elena." Isobel spun on her heel, grabbing Bonnie by the arm in the twirl and hurling her toward the others and sprinting out of the room, Bonnie went to follow her but the others motioned her to stop. She relented and shook off their grip turning to face them. She then looked to Jeremy's fingers – he was without his ring.

"Do you have your ring?" Bonnie asked, on autopilot, he didn't want to have an unnecessary conversation with Jeremy at that point; she was too tired to do anything but ensure he didn't burst into flames when the sun rose over Mystic Falls in a few hours. His hand went straight to his pocket and he produced it, handing at over as Bonnie threw it in the air and it suddenly arrested its terminal drop to the floor and began floating in front of her, she performed the same spell she had for Caroline and then returned it to Jeremy, "Maybe we should all get some rest…tonight has been…strange enough," she paused, "I'll be back in a second." She sprinted up the stairs and bent beside Alaric, luring him out of his unconscious state and helping him back down the stairs toward everyone else, he felt and looked dazed.

"I'll see you all tomorrow," Bonnie affirmed, "you get some rest." She stated to Alaric who nodded, sitting on the bottom step of his stairs.

Bonnie left, followed by Matt, leaving the others, Caroline was still looking over Tyler on the floor, absent-mindedly, though she hadn't realized it stroking at his forehead, "Maybe I had better take Tyler back to my place, his Mom might…ask some questions?" Caroline prompted and none of the others raised any doubts – she was after all probably the closest to him off the group, "I'll check in with you guys tomorrow morning once I know he's alright." They nodded and Jeremy bent to help Caroline carry Tyler out to her car beyond the House. Elena turned to look at Stefan and found warmth in his arms.

"What do we do about them?" she asked, looking toward the two Vampires. Stefan nodded and in the blink of an eye the two bodies were gone and so was he, he returned a few moments later, "I give them to my boyfriend the Vampire," she said as though it was the most elementary of solutions, "do you think…he's okay?" She asked, Stefan instantly understood she was talking about Jeremy.

Stefan shrugged, "I don't think there's anyway to know unless you ask him…clearly Bonnie's uncomfortable about the situation, and I guess Jeremy will be too – I mean he was turned for a purpose by Klaus, so that must be making him feel uncomfortable, and add to that the fact that he actually turned himself and completed the transition there's probably a whole load of emotions in there…guilt, anger…sadness."

Elena bobbed her head in agreement.

"Did you notice anything different about Matt?"

"No should I have?" Stefan quizzed but Elena shook her head – she didn't like lying to Stefan but equally she wanted to be sure she wasn't just being paranoid and actually had some concrete evidence to go on when she actually did tell him, until then she'd just have to sit on the information and wait and see whether or not he agreed with her about her deduction. Something had been wrong about Matt but since she wasn't supernatural in the way Bonnie or Stefan was she couldn't really talk about there being a different aura to Matt – she should probably have asked Bonnie before she left – Witches were good at sensing changes in people, but it had slipped her mind for a little while, concern that her mother was back and for what had happened had consumed her.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Stefan quizzed Alaric.

The bite marks were healing over, though there was still some left over blood trickling down his neck and down his body and he seemed curiously calm for someone who had had his ex-wife be lost and then return to him so many times in the space of his short life that any normal man might have thrown in the towel, accepted the straight-jacket and taken to a bed in the asylum, instead he had stayed there, in a way acting as a father-figure to Elena, even more after the death of John he had been there for her, when both her parents had gone, after Jenna had died, despite his grief he had been there to support her against all odds.

"I'll be fine," he shrugged, "Isobel just came up behind me, bit into me to take my blood, I turned around, asked her what she was doing and then she just hit me round the head and I went down – I'd just gone up to get a blanket for Tyler…if Bonnie hadn't have been here she'd have killed me, I think she was just disturbed by the fact and so she stopped…she seemed different though Elena, less controlled – no matter what she shows you she isn't the same as she was before-"

"-she seemed pretty similar to me," Elena looked around the House and felt that something was different – it wasn't the former presence of the Werewolves or the return of Isobel…there was an absence somewhere, then she hit upon it, "what happened to Damon Ric?"

Alaric gave her a confused look, "I was gonna ask you the same thing – he left the House, I just presumed he got to you before what happened at the Grill happened."

"What Klaus did." Stefan corrected, though clearly his shortness was evident that his worrying sense had just been set-off by what Alaric had said.

"Where would he be?" Elena quizzed to nobody in particular.

.

Damon awoke and groaned as he felt in agony the wooden stakes framed into his chest, gingerly he bent down and begun plucking them out one by one, being careful to avoid glancing his heart, unsure what repercussions accidentally striking his heart might have – he had already survived almost being killed by Werewolf venom, he wasn't about to let some stupid baby-stakes take his life away from him, he looked around his dark, damp surroundings and recognized them as being one of the Woodland tombs of the old houses, he looked to his left and spotted Katherine, in the business of removing her own stakes from her body she grinned at him, "Nice of you to join me."

"How did we get here?" Damon asked, grunting slightly as he jerked a stake out of his right buttock – why would people even stake him there? He had a slightly grim image of Katherine acting as Julius Caesar having so many stab-wounds, imaging himself driving stake after stake into her body, leaving her stone cold dead on the floor – unfortunately that was fiction rather than fact.

"There was an explosion," she said through clenched teeth as she jerked a stake three from beneath her right knee cap, "then I woke up in air – it stinks of Werewolf though," Damon nodded in agreement, until that point he hadn't been able to piece together what it was particularly that made the place so revolting besides all the stakes in his body and he realized it was the odour of wet dog pervading about the place, "and I'd imagine, all Tyler Lockwood's four-legged friends are back among us again."

Damon grunted again as he yanked a stake out that had been jabbed through his back and glanced off his kidney, "Care to elaborate?"

"I had to kill George Lockwood, _again_," Katherine smiled at him as she removed one of her last stakes – not that Damon wasn't keeping pace he only had a few more than her total but she was moving briskly, he was being careful so as not to cause unnecessary damage, "and I killed him back in 1865," Damon raised an eyebrow, "I had to be sure you wouldn't know I'd come back, he was the loose end." They both moved towards removing their last stakes and then froze as a noise rang out at the end of the tomb, they both froze as two stakes sailed out of the darkness pinning them to the ground, followed by more that targeted there previously clear legs, felling them to the ground.

Mason Lockwood stepped forward, smiling down at the two incapacitated Vampires – the one who had taken him for a fool and the one that had killed him and fired of a few wooden bullets for good measure, ensuring that they were completely immobile and pinned to the ground. It felt good to be alive again, even if he wasn't entirely sure how he'd gotten there and he also felt incredibly lucky to have tracked down the two of them and to be able to take them now as his prisoners and playthings to use, and abuse as he wished. There were further footsteps – two sets and Mason froze turning his gun around and then pausing as Brady and Jules loomed out of the darkness, both with bruises but otherwise they seemed fine.

"What happened to you two?" he quizzed.

"We went there to get the _kid_," Damon immediately understood from the presence of Damon and use of that term they meant Tyler – there weren't any other juvenile Werewolves in Mystic Falls, "but we got jumped by a Vampire before we got there, we came to in the woods beyond the house, we came straight here."

Mason nodded, "Which Vampire?"

"Not one we know," Jules replied calmly, "but she seemed familiar somehow – as if we know someone close to her, although I couldn't be sure – she was older though, than those two, black-haired, probably early-forties when she turned."

_Isobel,_ Damon thought, turning to look at Katherine and she somehow through her eyes conveyed that she had drawn the same conclusion – though Damon remained confused, why would Isobel purposefully go somewhere she knew the Salvatore's were likely to turn up – it couldn't have been a call on Ric, she didn't have feelings for him anymore…or hadn't when she died – it was extraordinarily risky just to capture a Werewolf: he couldn't believe she would actually have gone there just to stop the two Werewolves, and her choice to not kill them was strange too, Isobel didn't practice mercy, she had been schooled in that by Katherine a long time ago.

Mason shrugged, "Did she get _him_?"

"We don't know – Stefan and the others showed up once we left so we didn't go back." Brady clued-up, Mason sighed and frowned and then turned towards the two Vampires, Damon rolled feebly to avoid a hail of bullets, instead allowing them to slam into Katherine who howled in pain and then snarled towards the three Werewolves, watching them nervously at the other end of the tomb – for all her bark her bite was severely curtailed by the amount of wood impaled within her, she wasn't going to get away easily – clearly the Werewolves had detected she was the more powerful of the two Vampires they were holding prisoner within the tomb.

"What do you want from us?" Damon asked, more boldly than he might actually have had he processed the situation but he felt that trying to act calm and collected was the best strategy – it couldn't take that long for Elena or Stefan or someone to figure out he was missing, then they would start looking for him or, if they were being intelligent they'd ask Bonnie, although he reflected it being the middle of the night rescue would not be forthcoming for a few days.

"You're leverage," Mason said, in a fashion that suggested he didn't feel like telling his _prisoners_ – although Damon was confident that he would be able to get out since Werewolves actually needed to sleep and with the Moon nearly upon them would want as much rest as possible – that meant he would have an opportunity to escape once one or more of them had fallen asleep, "we weren't the only ones who came through the veil and we know some of the people who did, if we have you they won't come near us."

Damon let out a shrill laugh, "If you honestly think Vampires won't do anything to you to get to us then you're so deluded it's…laughable." He grinned at them and regretted it as the salvo of wooden bulls burned into his abdomen.

.

Bonnie walked into the kitchen and felt her heart be uplifted – she had smelt the casserole as she crossed the threshold of the House, it was an odd sensation, it being the early hours of the morning, but she didn't care because the casserole, together with perfume indicated that someone special was back, as she'd been hoping ever since she'd seen the two Werewolves and Isobel – her Grams stood at the stove preparing something, she wanted to ask so many things, and to hug her but she had something playing on her mind.

"Grams how do you become a Witch?"

.

Hope you liked Chapter 3,

4 might be a little while,

Reviews and responses welcome and appreciated,

Acrobat

X


	4. Chapter 4

**The Vampire Diaries**

Sheila Bennett could remember the first time she'd ever cast a spell so clearly that it almost felt like yesterday, and but, for a few wrinkles and a few grey hairs she might have been that same, idealistic teenager, campaigning for racial equality who at the same time as she was attending sit-ins or charging Police Officers armed with high pressure hoses, also discovered she was a Witch. It was a closely guarded family secret – as most things pertaining to what popular culture has termed the occult are – although Sheila's first spell, had been unexpected.

It had been triggered she later discovered by her emotions – fear specifically. She had been taking a shortcut through an alley in what was then one of the black neighbourhoods in Mystic Falls when she'd been set upon by two White Thugs, they were the typical vulgar, foul-mouthed bigots that you'd come across at any of the protests across the South at the time. But the thing that had amplified her fear was the fact that one of them was a Vampire – one who wanted her blood once he and has buddy had dealt with her.

By spearheading protests she had already painted a big red target sign on her back, these two were just being opportunistic. Her fear had however turned to bravery, she had felt warmth inside of her as she had never felt before, a light that uplifted her spirits, the Vampire dropped to the floor suffering aneurisms while his friend was slammed against a wall and left unconscious. Yes, Sheila Bennett remembered very well that first spell – probably because it was one she had used most prolifically of late, and had seen most commonly used by her granddaughter Bonnie, and now that she was back she was questioning whether that was the memory she would like to take to her grave with her, _again_.

It was the middle of the night as the door opened and Bonnie strode in but Sheila didn't mind, she was cooking Bonnie's favourite – her surprise casserole, although technically it had been her Mother's casserole first, Sheila had just tweaked it a little over the years – Bonnie strode around the corner and Sheila felt as though nothing had changed, it was as though she'd never really left her granddaughter, that they had always had one another. She turned around and looked at her granddaughter smiling widely at her. Bonnie's eyes were twinkling, like the stars in the sky – it was indication of her power. However she didn't seem warm, only confused – and Sheila could sense there was a turbulence in the girl. She was about to say something when Bonnie prompted her with a question.

"Grams how do you become a Witch?"

Sheila raised an eyebrow, "Become a Witch?"

Bonnie nodded, affirming that Sheila had heard her granddaughter correctly.

"Bonnie it isn't like a Club, one does not just become a Witch, you are born with the powers."

Bonnie frowned – her puzzlement had yet to depart her face.

"Why did you ask? Your not suggesting Elena wants to-"

"-no," Bonnie said definitely, at least that seemed to channel some of the confusion into amusement in the girl, "nothing like that…it's just…something happened – I think I sensed that someone tonight had powers, like you and me, but they hadn't had them before, ever before."

Sheila allowed her eyebrow to remain raised in intrigue.

"I think Matt is a Witch, or became one, I'm not sure."

"They could have just awakened in him?" Sheila suggested but immediately understood implicitly that it wouldn't have made any sense – they would have known he was at least moderately magical, or at least she would have, or known someone in that family who had been. There wasn't a drop of magical blood running in his veins, at least there hadn't been before.

Bonnie sat down at a chair at the Kitchen Table, "I'm just a little…overwhelmed."

Sheila settled, "Bonnie if you are going through something then we shall get through it together, I've seen a lot of things Bonnie, things you can't begin to imagine – confide in me. What's on your mind?"

She shrugged, "Well…Jeremy is a Vampire…my boyfriend," she looked into her Grams eyes but they only seemed encouraging, urging her to tell her more so she could understand her easily, "or ex-boyfriend…I'm not even sure where we stand anymore…Matt might be a Witch…it's…I just don't understand how everyone I care about is being sucked into this world. People just end up getting killed."

Sheila reached across and touched at her hand reassuringly, a sign to show that she was here with Bonnie and that she would understand her needs and anything else she was struggling with, Bonnie looked into her Grams deep brown eyes and suddenly felt completely relaxed, everything just seemed to float away when she was around her Grams aura.

"Bonnie, I understand it's hard for you, but as a Witch you have been born into a world beyond what ordinary teenagers go through, you have been born into a world with Vampires who prey upon people, with Werewolves who cannot control what happens to them at dawn, a world with Witches who may be cold-hearted, callous and evil – a world where those three forces are periodically at war with one another. But you are lucky Bonnie, you can see each side of the conflict, true you haven't met everything that is out there but you have experienced touches of the principal people involved and that is what matters – with Stefan and Tyler and all your other friends you can make a difference Bonnie. You just have to weather the storm, when you get to my age…well the less said about that the better," she squeezed Bonnie's hand tightly, "now how about some casserole?"

.

Elena had gone to sleep on a worry and growing anxiety and had been rewarded for it with a night of nightmares, she awoke and felt her heart skip a beat – although that was being modest, she had nearly died – as she awoke to both Stefan and Jeremy waiting for her in her bedroom, she sat bolt upright against the back of her bed as she registered the fact and then swung her head toward the door as Alaric entered, looking as tired as she felt, at that point she envied the fact that Stefan and Jeremy didn't need to sleep – and then the thought dawned upon her: her brother was a _Vampire_.

The three exchanged worried glances as they regarded her – perhaps they had misinterpreted her reaction to awaking to three of them in her bedroom when she only really wanted one of them to see the fact she had slept in her underwear as actually being concern for Damon – although she was concerned for Damon, he should have been back to them hours ago and his lack of presence in the room was obvious.

"What are you thinking?" Elena quizzed openly – she didn't see any point to beat about the bush.

Stefan exchanged a glance with Jeremy and then paused to look back to her, "We're thinking that…someone took Damon last night while he was on his way to the Grill…if Isobel is back then it's only reasonable to presume that the town Vampires amongst others are back: and they have good reason to want Damon dead."

"And the Werewolves – Mason Lockwood will be back." Jeremy murmured, and Elena nodded, understanding that fact.

"So what are you doing about it?" Elena prodded.

Stefan leaned back and then looked at Alaric for answers who looked equally lost, only Jeremy seemed to be maintaining a cool, in fact it was an icy cool and it was unsettling Elena to see her brother so detached, perhaps he was flirting with switching off his feelings – the fact he could shut that alright made her shudder involuntarily, violently enough that Stefan moved closer to her as though his embrace might arrest what she had felt.

"Bonnie is going to look for him, Tyler is scenting with Caroline along the route he might have taken…otherwise we don't have a lot, we though we'd wait here till you woke up and in case we heard news from either group," Jeremy murmured after a few moments silence, "what do you want to do?" he turned towards her and suddenly she felt tears filling up inside of her, the sparkle of youth was gone from his eye, overnight he had matured, grown into the skin of immortality…become wise, like a sage. His eyes were not those of a bright, fun teenager…they were those of a man twice his age who had seen the world and understood things on another level.

"Maybe it's best if we just go help Caroline and Tyler," Alaric said shooting Jeremy a look, not that Elena was even sure her brother would understand it, he seemed so aloof from everything she wondered if the emotional sentiment might bypass him entirely, Jeremy however moved, although it seemed more than a little begrudging, "we'll call you if we see anything."

"Alaric looks exhausted," Elena murmured once they left, attempted to steer away from the subject of her brother though she could tell from Stefan's look, the way his piercing hazel-coloured eyes knifed through her to her core, silently understanding everything she was dealing with and sounding out all her queries, that she wasn't going to be able to steer away from her issues surrounding Jeremy, "he needs some rest, we all do…the last few days have been…_hard_, for all of us."

"It isn't gonna go away Elena," Stefan replied, ignoring her stall tactic, "Jeremy will be a Vampire now for his whole life, and yeah he's changed now, but he's still in transition, he's trying things out, getting used to his new body – I wonder if you actually understand how hard that will be for him? Whatever you think about turning out as a Vampire Elena Jeremy could really use you as a sister right now, to steer him, because I doubt that Bonnie is going to be able to keep up their relationship now that he's changed: things are just going to become really hard for him and everyone around him. Caroline was bad enough, Jeremy will be worse – he's a guy…he has…_urges_. He needs you Elena."

She nodded – it was all stuff she'd implicitly understood before having the conversation, she just hadn't wanted to confront it: wasn't she allowed to be irresponsible and upset for once, rather than assuming the reigns of maturity and dealing with it? Couldn't she just allow herself a little respite? Clearly not.

"And he'll have me," she paused, "would you mind leaving so I can get changed?"

.

Tyler couldn't remember much of the previous night after Bonnie had tended to his wounds, he presumed she'd sent him into a trance because he woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and revitalized with only minimal scratches to attest to the violent nature of his attack. The morning had also been great because he'd woken up with Caroline in his room, he wasn't sure how long she'd been sat on the windowsill, watching him sleep, shirtless, but at least it showed that things might be moving in the direction he wanted, although he was also aware that she was the one that had been at the Grill with Matt the night before – but he would know if something had happened between them again, wouldn't he?

Caroline had seemed on edge though and they'd left early to look for Damon, leaving his Mom fast asleep in her bedroom, though Tyler had at Caroline's request left her note telling her he'd gone out for breakfast early and wouldn't be back until late – normally he preferred to leave his Mom in the dark, not that she noticed with her work about all of his comings and goings, although Caroline seemed to be obsessed with ensuring his Mom knew he was safe. She clearly didn't know his Mom all that well.

They'd scouted the most likely route Damon would've taken to the Grill, travelling through the woodland since it was shorter than the road between Alaric's House and the restaurant – although Tyler could find trace of a Vampire smell it got enmeshed with a separate odour – Katherine's and it drew short of the grill and then disappeared altogether, masked by a Wolf-stench although not one that he could recognize for definite. Caroline wasn't helping either, as much as he loved spending time with her, her own particular Vampire perfume was blocking out Damon's muskier smell, and the other odour was almost poisonous, reeking of venom and danger.

Now they were doubling back again, Tyler crunched a branch under his boot and Caroline visibly stiffened at the noise crouching before spotting the branch, split in two beneath Tyler's foot and letting out a shrill laugh before descending into giggles. Girlish cries of joy that Tyler couldn't help but smile at – perhaps the exhaustion of the past few days was slipping of her shoulders at last and she was finally letting her guard down for a few moments to enjoy the occasion.

"What do you make of the Wolf smell?" Tyler asked, cutting of the laughter straight away, Caroline laughed in a staggered fashion and then let it die out altogether before looking him in the eyes and giving him a quizzical look, as though she were trying to decide what she did think of the odour – truth be told she had more confidence in Tyler's tracking skills than her own.

She shrugged, "I think the scent smell's like yours actually, a little bit…there's the same…strength in it, the same power."

So she thought he was powerful? Was that a good thing?

He continued walking, dropping to the wood floor a few times to see if there was anything he might be able to smell and then struck gold, he picked up a leaf, coated in some red drops and then dropped back down again and focusing could now see it – glistening slightly, a trail of blood along the wood floor. He picked up the leaf and offered his finger to Caroline with a trace of the blood on it, tentatively she stuck out her stung and licked it off – if they had been plain old humans it would have been quite sensual, being as they were, Werewolf and Vampire respectively Tyler didn't read more into it than it being necessity, Caroline was the blood connoisseur after all.

She debated over it a few moments, "Vampire – but it isn't Damon's," she was sure it wasn't Damon's because she could tell things about the Vampire it had come from, she was a she obviously, but she was also old, the blood was older than Damon's because it had a harder edge to it, "they must have come this way – looks as if they were dragged too," she indicated a trail curving off to the right that they hadn't spotted before, "and the blood means wooden bullets were used – and a lot if there's this much blood and a wound, maybe they even had a stake or two thrown in for good measure."

Tyler nodded grimly as they stalked of following the trail, leaves were swept to either side indicating that something had been pulled through here, there was more blood to, across the roots of the trees that were above ground where wounds would have grazed them more painfully. He could feel rising anxiety but he wasn't sure, the woods were pretty much deserted around them – even the animals were staying well away, aware on a subconscious level that there was evil near them, predators hungry hovering nearby – and then he understood implicitly why he was so unsettled, if he had led two Vampires this way and was holding them captive then you wouldn't want anyone interfering with the prisoners – so you'd have posted sentries around the perimeter to watch them.

At that point he heard Caroline scream and was grabbed from behind.

.

Bonnie paused as Elena and Stefan drew up outside the House and she bid Elena entry to the House, Stefan went to enter and then paused on the porch, Sheila Bennett manoeuvred around the corner and realisation dawned upon him – she was alive so he couldn't enter the house without her invitation, after a few moments deliberation she reluctantly murmured, "You can come in _Mr Salvatore_." The greeting was formal and left him uncomfortable in the extreme – why such an icy reception from her?

He settled in the living room with Elena on the sofa, Sheila took an Armchair and Bonnie settled on the floor, from the spread of candles across the floor and the map that already looked warn from overuse Stefan judged Bonnie had been trying to locate Damon magically without luck all morning – she looked at him questioningly, as though she could judge he was thinking about her and then they turned to look at Sheila who had cleared her throat from the armchair.

"It's good to see you two," she said, although it sounded forced as though she wasn't telling the whole truth about her feelings about having returned, "and much as I'd like to help you find your brother Stefan I'm not sure that I can, I am bound to this House – whatever happened last night it can only be a temporary thing, a freak accident – and at some point we will have to go back, unfortunately I doubt that the others who returned will be so willing to return."

"Do we know exactly whose back?" Stefan probed and Sheila nodded sagely.

"Every Vampire, Werewolf or Witch that had ties to Mystic Falls since the Civil War – that means the town Vampires, it means Emily Bennett, the Lockwood Werewolves-"

"-Jenna." Elena interjected suddenly and then went quiet noting that Sheila wished to continue.

"They will have the same grievances which they died with, I should also mention Elena that since John Gilbert tied himself magically to you to ensure your survival that he too will have returned to Mystic Falls – from what Bonnie has told me and what I know understand myself, Klaus turned your brother into a Vampire and he will have a reason."

"Do you think he has Damon?" Stefan pressed.

Bonnie shook her head, "I know from Tyler and Caroline that Werewolves have Damon…and another Vampire."

"Sheila if you have anything that you think can help from the other side telling us would really help us." Stefan stated once more, looking her into the eyes and she nodded.

"Elena can I have a word?" Bonnie asked, and Elena nodded according ascent, Stefan and Sheila had already slipped into conversation, Elena stood up and followed Bonnie to the kitchen as she poured herself a glass of iced tea and handed a second glass to Elena who sipped nervously, Bonnie seemed nervous and that nervousness was transferred and amplified in Elena.

"What's up?" she questioned.

"Did you…notice anything strange about Matt, at the Grill…and last night? Anything that seemed well…different?" Bonnie prodded and Elena raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

"Because I sensed a change in him…or at least I think I did."

"There was something weird, before I blacked out I remembered a bright light…and then when I came to he acted as if nothing had happened." Elena admitted honestly.

Bonnie nodded, her suspicions confirmed, "He's a Witch Elena, I don't know how…but he is."

.

Hope you liked Chapter 4,

Reviews and responses appreciated as always,

Acrobat,

X


	5. Chapter 5

**The Vampire Diaries**

Tyler threw a punch and watched as his Uncle Mason spiralled through the air, smashing through the trunk of one of the trees and rolling on the ground beside it, he sprang to his feet and ran to his side – just a few splinters and minor cuts, he looked his Uncle over and sprang back – it really was his Uncle…in flesh and blood, he swivelled round at the snap of a branch and was on his feet as he surveyed Brady, the shaven-headed Werewolf advanced upon him and for a moment he thought he was about to receive a fist in his face but instead Brady extended a hand to him to shake, Tyler nervously extended his own and clasped Brady's in the vicelike grip that all Werewolves seemed to use when greeting one another.

Mason coughed behind them and got to his feet, "Nice to see you've been working on your uppercut Tyler." The joke allowed the three of them a nervous laugh but Tyler scanned the surrounding ground for Caroline – he had heard her scream, hadn't he?

"Where's Caroline?" if something had happened to her he'd never have forgiven himself or them, in fact he wasn't even sure they would still be standing, they'd be on the floor dead, and he couldn't even speak for what he might do to the one that had actually harmed Caroline: Jules.

Mason put on arm on his shoulder and looked him straight in the eyes, "She's fine, Jules has her."

The walk through the woods to the tomb seemed even longer but Tyler didn't care, as long as he got there in time to see Caroline – ensure that she hadn't been staked or harmed in anyway, he could feel his rage bubbling underneath the surface: it was a measure of how far he'd come that he could keep his anger in check now, once emotions might have ruled him – love in a way still did command him, now he was in command of his feelings.

He almost punched the wall when he saw Caroline, on the floor, motionless, half a dozen bullet holes in her, he turned to look at the two older Weres behind him but they remained impassive, directing him to move further in and then he paused again – Damon and Elena…_Katherine_, he corrected himself were both awake and facing them, though similarly shot through as Caroline had been, and then he had cause to pause again as Jules rounded the corner, in the company of someone he recognized: his Father.

He couldn't take it all in and stood uncertainly, between the four Weres, regarding them all, and then allowing his eyes to flicker to three incapacitated Vampires on the floor, and then he looked back to his father with a fury in his eyes, but the fury was met with cold calculation and it dawned upon him – his father didn't and couldn't view the Vampires as people, he pathologically hated them, needed to eradicate them, they were dirt to be wiped of his boot – and he would do it, Tyler understood that implicitly. But something was holding them back.

"What are you afraid of?" Tyler called out, not allowing any of the fear he was feeling to come out in his voice – despite the fact that two of the Weres were blood relations and one of the others had also for a short period of time tried to mentor him, though he was acutely aware that if he challenged any of them then he would be dead on the floor and the Vampires would be without ally.

"More like _who_." Brady murmured, advancing upon Tyler, shooting him a venomous look which Tyler understood was a warning gesture: almost animalistic.

"We aren't the only ones that are back Tyler," his father murmured, though Tyler barely noticed it, it was addressed in the same uncaring, hard tones that had greeted him for the past seventeen years, Tyler allowed it to brush off him, at least his mother had showed a modicum of affection toward him, although it had taken his father's death for that, "other far eviler, crueller things came through that veil – and we need these Vampires as leverage, because he wants them more than he'll want us."

Tyler understood who they were talking about: _Klaus_.

"And you think that'll stop him – he'll take all of us and the Vampires, you'd be better not making more enemies," Tyler said, allowing his vision to rest on Damon, ensuring that Damon understood what Tyler was trying to do and communicate to the Weres, "and you'd be better getting the help of the Vampires rather than fighting against them, there are lot more of them in the area, more than Wolves that's for sure."

After a moment's deliberation between the four adults – conducted with only eye movements Jules spoke, "Alright let's go – Brady get the gasoline, we'll torch the Vampires and cut and run," she caught sight of Tyler's look as Brady sprinted off and looked at him, "Tyler either you come with us or you die here with the Vampires." Even she seemed to have lost her affection during death, she looked at him coldly and Tyler implicitly understood what he had to do. He crossed the room to where the two Vampires were sitting, Katherine snarled at him as he neared but Damon nodded slightly, the tiniest incline of his head to indicate he understood what was about to happen, Damon yelled in pain as Tyler punched him in the abdomen.

. . .

"How are you feeling?" Matt half jumped out of his skin as he swivelled round, finding himself alone in the house with Bonnie, she was dressed in a pair of jeans, suede boots and a floral shirt, she looked into his eyes, her burning brightly, exuding warmth into the room and somehow he felt safe, as though some scent were being secreted into the room that just rendered you warm and happy.

"After what," Matt finally twigged on, she wasn't talking about _that_, "the fire?" Bonnie nodded uncertainly – she'd noticed that he'd paused, "I'm…okay…I don't have a job because the Grill set on fire but at least the CCTV tapes were busted so they don't know we were there, otherwise I'm okay I guess. How are you?"

"My Grams is back," she admitted, perching on top of the breakfast bar, "and I mean I'm so glad to see her but I'm just left wondering how long it'll be before she goes back, she knows that they aren't here to stay…that somehow everything will right itself in a few days…I just…I'm left wondering do I start opening my heart to her again or do I close myself off because it'll hurt too much when she goes again, you know?"

Matt nodded, "I guess if she's back that means Vicki must be back." He hadn't even given thought to his sister – she would be back but as a Vampire, did she have her ring to protect her from the daylight or would she be hiding somewhere in the darkness, maybe she'd been killed if she'd come to in the daylight? That was just something else for him to worry about, where his literally bloodthirsty sister was lying low.

"Yeah but I mean she won't necessarily have stayed in Mystic Falls Matt, if you want I could ask Caroline to come over and watch the House tonight once she's back from looking for Damon?"

"No it's cool," he said, maybe it would be the real test of his…_abilities_, "yeah weren't you looking for Damon with them?"

She swung her head from side-to-side, "I was trying to use a locator spell but I couldn't get a fix on him, I guess Klaus's Witches might have something to do with that, they might be blocking me…I mean if I had someone else's help I might be able to find him…but I think Luka, Jonas and Greta will have left…even if they did want to help me…help us…and my Grams is good but she isn't strong enough…I think some of her magical juice got zapped coming through the veil like she did."

Matt nodded but didn't reveal anything…he didn't want to get in over his head, "Do you want me to help you look for him?"

Bonnie shook her head, she could see he was scared, scared she might have already figured it out, scared about what it meant, scared about what being a Witch meant – would it mean he'd be drawn into their world more than he already was? He'd already nearly been killed by one Werewolf amongst others, and that Werewolf had been his friend. Now he would have Vampires, Weres and other Witches hunting him down, and he was scared because he didn't know if he could defeat them all. She could also detect something else as well, he was confused about Caroline and this had only exacerbated things, he didn't want to get back with her…the Vampire thing for him made things impossible, now that he was a Witch did that change his morals? She could help him but she didn't want to frighten him and telling him she could sense that he was a Witch would send him running for the hells, she couldn't deal with that, could she?

"Maybe we should try something here…your house doesn't have any magic passing through it…maybe the house was interfering itself, do you mind if I do a spell here?" Matt raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything. She hadn't said what kind of spell. He returned with candles and then produced a glass of water – either he had good instincts or he'd seen her do spells enough time to see what gave her the best odds of completing it effectively. She started chanting under her breath and the candles flickered into life, she opened an eye slightly to look at Matt, he was deeply intrigued she then changed it's emphasis onto Matt, his body would begin tingling with the magic and she could see it, and suddenly he was chanting with her, without knowing the words, and the droplets of water in the cup were sparkling all around them in the air. Bonnie stopped and they dropped to the floor and the candles died down a little she looked at him with a smile, "Looks as if you didn't need any helping casting that spell."

Matt replied with an awkward smile – he should've known she'd figure it out, she was a Witch after all: she would have known straight away.

.

"So where are they?" Elena asked Stefan, he had at Vampire speed – something at this point she envied, checked all along the path that Caroline and Tyler should've been searching and found no trace of them, barring trace elements of her blood and some Werewolf blood although he couldn't tell whether it was Tyler's or someone else's.

"Wherever Damon is – I guess they were taken down where I found that blood," they looked to their left as a car drew up, Alaric slipped out, Elena could see a crossbow on the backseat – did that mean that Vampires had taken them, "i don't think you should help us get them out though – if we can find out where they are that is, with Tyler Bonnie has something living to work with – we need to ask her to find him, then we can find the others from him."

"Are you kidding? Stefan I can look after myself-" Elena began but cut out at a sharp look from Alaric that shut her down, someone else slipped out of the other seat of the car – John, her father – she hadn't even noticed him there, he looked as alive as the day he'd left her, the day he'd given his life for hers, and now he was back. Albeit temporarily.

John paused at the edge of the trio, not advancing on her to bestow an uncustomary greeting like a hug or a kiss upon his daughter, "He showed up at my House and he wants to help Elena, while he's here…to get Damien back to us, to get them all back. Besides he knows more than the three of us about the surrounding area and about who came back through that veil."

"Who do you think did it?" Elena asked, addressing him as though he were involved in the conversation rather than talking about him like they were doing.

"Mason Lockwood," Isobel murmured, "and his little puppies – they wanted to snatch Tyler the night that I was at Ric's House," she advanced upon them from the other end of the street, "unfortunately as well as Damon they took something dear to me, something that I need back – and I need your help to get her, since the Vampires in the area aren't exactly well disposed towards her."

_Katherine_, Elena understood.

"How do we know we can trust you?" Elena prompted, she didn't care that Isobel was her mother she was rotten to the core, Elena had learned that the hard way, at one point she had considered that Isobel understood and cared for her, but as much as Isobel had seemed as though she genuinely cared for Elena there had been an undertone of mistrust always, it was intensified now she was back and after she had been in Bonnie's House. "I mean you did try to kidnap Tyler, right?"

"True but I failed, I'd also acutely misread the situation, that is irrelevant," she deflected in the superior way that some Vampires did when they spoke to humans or other supernatural beings, "Katherine is a much bigger prize to be gained from all this, there are a lot of factions looking for her, whoever has her will be able to exert a great influence over a great many people, especially since," she cut her self off mid-flow, "I'd have done this alone but where Werewolves are concerned I find it prudent to work in numbers, besides I wouldn't want to upset my only daughter by killing one of her friends, even if he is a Werewolf."

"Do you trust her?" Stefan asked.

Elena didn't but she didn't think they had a choice, they needed the numbers – she was tempted to find Bonnie and ask her to help but she was also aware that Bonnie was trying to help Matt with…his newly acquired powers, she needed to give them time to do that, besides Isobel clearly had an idea where they'd been taken, she was also however worried – this would mean death, including Mason Lockwood, and she wasn't sure she could see Tyler lose someone so close to him again. If they were all back his Father might even be with them, and then Tyler would have to watch him killed too, only this time he would actually see it before his very eyes. Who would he side with?

"No, but you need her," she leaned across and kissed him and then hovered at his neck, near to his ear, "although I'd sooner she was dead again." And she actually meant that, that was the worst part of having one parent that was a Vampire and one that was a Vampire-killer, their mutual hatred and the lives they led corrupted you, made you dark and hateful like they were, made you an awful, violent person. Elena had never been like that when it had just been her, Jeremy and her parents, even with Jenna for a time they had found happiness. Now everything was so dark and twisted, some times she just wished it would all stop, that the white noise would be lost around her. She kissed Stefan again and he and Isobel left, Alaric lingered behind – clearly he was her ride home.

"Careful Elena, play with fire, prepare to get burned." She turned around, a scream escaping her lungs as for a fraction of a second she looked into the glittering yellow eyes of Klaus before he disappeared again.

.

Tyler paused beside Damon once more, landing another punch and picking out another piece of wooden bullet, Damon was playing dead which was good, the only problem was that Damon still probably was a little dead, Tyler couldn't be sure how much he'd been pumped full of wood but he was almost certain that he'd had a lot more than his recommended daily amount of wood for a Vampire.

He sprang to his feet and turned around, walking back to his Father, Uncle and the other two Weres who had been gingerly eyeing up Tyler though he could see from his eyes that it was flickers of pride they were feeling, they were completely lapping up his turn on the Vampires mentality, clearly they thought that his ties to his family were a lot stronger than they were. His Dad had been a complete dick, Mason to a lesser extent, he didn't even care that much about his Mom, she just happened to be there, she didn't approve of him being a Vampire, he didn't approve of her as a mother. It was a mutual hatred.

"There a problem?" Tyler new he needed the information, so did the Vampires, he felt bad betraying the Weres but he wasn't one of _them_, he didn't have a pathological hatred of Vampires like they did, he just wanted everyone to get along. Clearly none of them understood that message or principle, and were willing to sacrifice their lives in the pursuit of war. He wasn't so willing to die.

Jules nodded, "Someone took our gasoline cans."

"You know anything about that _kid_?" Brady said with a hostile edge, not that Tyler was concerned, his Father and Uncle instantly slid into familial protective mode, sliding between the two Weres as they squared up to each other – although Tyler was only doing it for show, he didn't want to actually fight Brady, mainly because he was sure he would get killed in the process. Brady was a hard-edged bastard, he didn't take prisoners and he didn't permit mercy. Tyler had known that since he'd first met the intimidating shaven-headed Wolf standing across from him.

"He's one of us now," Mason declared and then the four Weres stiffened, Tyler did too – he had caught the scent in the wind: _Vampire_, "they're here – one way out, go." Tyler followed the four of them as they headed up the steps but then ducked back down toward Katherine, Damon and Caroline on the floor.

.

The first Wolf was a brute – Brady – Stefan recognized, he darted out a pistol in his hand: presumably loaded with wooden bullets. Stefan swivelled behind him and then knocked the gun from his hand in one run at him, taking a second run and knocking Brady to the ground, snapping his neck in a quick, precise movement. The second Wolf Stefan noted as Tyler's Father, older than the others his moves were more reserved, he fired his pistols a few times at Isobel, before she reached up close to him and went for the heart-grab, pulling it out and showing it him before he dropped to the floor. Now there were two left against them – Mason and Jules.

They looked unconcerned and Stefan advanced cautiously upon them – they were Weres yes but they were smarter than the other two, at least he thought they were: they wouldn't want trouble, at least he didn't think they would.

"Just let us past," Stefan said, cautiously advancing upon them, ascertaining they were unarmed in the process, "you can go – I promise you won't be harmed." He cased a warning glance to Isobel, he wasn't sure he could stop her but he'd rather not have more blood on his hands, especially since Mason and Jules were basically good people, they were just influenced by ancient hatred between Weres and Vampires and their allegiances to some and against others. Jules disappeared in a flash, Mason lingered behind uncertainly.

"You had your chance." Isobel declared and advanced upon him, snapping his neck and watching him fall to the floor with excitement before descending into the tomb, Tyler sailed out, smashing into a tree and snapping it, falling to the ground, Stefan was torn between going to check on Damon and Caroline or coming back but relented and headed straight for Tyler, dropping by his side to check him, his wounds seemed minor. Stefan cupped his face with both hands to bring him around.

"Did they do anything to you?" he asked, retracting his fangs – the danger had now passed.

"I'm fine," he murmured dazedly, "check on the others."

Stefan turned around face-to-face with Damon, a slightly winded Caroline following behind him.

"Looks as if Isobel took Katherine," Damon murmured, grinning ecstatically, "and two of the Werewolves are dead, and there little puppy here might have actually earned my respect."

.

"You were brave in there," Caroline murmured from the bathroom adjoining Tyler's room, "I never understood how far you'd go to save me, to save them too…that was like…above and beyond heroic Tyler."

"It was nothing," he dismissed, touching sorely at his wounds in his side, freshly opened by the collision with the tree, "you didn't have to come home with me you know, I'd have been fine, you're in pretty bad shape too right?"

"A few wooden bullets," Caroline batted away bravely, she idled to the window and then turned back to face him, "Tyler…look…I wasn't…I haven't been fair to you…I guess I've just been dismissing your feelings for me, what our relationship might be because of what I wanted my relationship with Matt to be you know? I thought he thought the world of me, turns out in his hour of need I can't even do anything for him, to help or to protect him or to save him…and then I realized that I've spent so long trying to be his…trying to be his _soul mate_, that I've been ignoring that mines been right in front of me this whole time."

"What are you saying?" Tyler quizzed, confusedly. Caroline crossed the room and hooked one arm around his neck, playfully walking her fingers up his torso and shoulder till they hooked with her other hand, locking her arms around his neck.

"I'm saying that I _love you_ Tyler Lockwood – and it's just taken me a while to figure that out." She leaned and kissed him and it was like electricity radiating through her body, she felt alive, so completely, unbelievably alive that it was untrue. This was how she was meant to spend her life. With a Werewolf. And she'd thought _Twilight_ seemed far fetched.

.

"How does my Queen like her apartments?" Klaus quizzed from the edge of the door.

Jenna swung around, a delighted grin etched on her face, "I like them very much, I'd like them even more if we actually _broke_ my bed in if you get my drift?"

"But what about our child," Klaus quizzed, touching at her bulging stomach gently, "wouldn't it put it at risk?"

"I could have it right now if you so desired," she said, crossing the room in an instant and plunging her tongue into his mouth, exploring it readily, almost giggling at the feel of his fangs touching at her tongue, "whatever would please you most."

"Our child will come when it is ready my Queen," he declared, his beaming smile matching her own, "I have other work to attend to my dear, concentrate on finding something delicious for dinner though – you always did have impeccable taste."

.

Hope you liked Chapter 6,

Reviews and responses welcome and appreciated,

Acrobat

X


	6. Chapter 6

**The Vampire Diaries**

_I can't shake the feeling something bad is going to happen today. _

_I should be braver and should just put down this sense of foreboding to bad past experiences…but somehow I've learned that when things settle in Mystic Falls its simply a sign of a greater evil to come. Stefan isn't worried, he never is, he's a Vampire that's lived through some scary, uncertain times. This for him is probably now different. The same goes for Damon…he's so effortlessly calm it leaves me…in awe of him. Of Damon. That sounds messed up to actually see it written down. _

Elena put her pen down and looked to the door, Jeremy was stood there, a silhouette framed in the light of the landing. He crossed the room uncertainly and settled at the end of her bed, as though he wanted distance from her – was he afraid he might bite? Afraid he could lose control and descended into a bloodthirsty feeding frenzy? It didn't faze Elena she already lived with three Vampires in regular proximity to her who might snap at any moment – Jeremy was just a newer addition to the group, and he was also closer to her. Clearly this was harder for him than she'd imagined.

"Jer do you believe in yourself?" she probed.

"Sure," he murmured from the end of the bed, though Elena found herself sceptical of him, she wasn't even sure he truly believed himself, "I guess…just getting bloodlust under control is…difficult."

"Doesn't have to be," Elena reminded, "Stefan gave you some bags to put the fridge just in case you have a moment of weakness, and you can always go hunting with him or Damon or Caroline any time you're hungry," she didn't reach out to him, acutely though silently aware that he was trying very hard not to focus upon her because then his animalistic instinct might take over, "I know you miss her Jer – you just need to give her time."

He shrugged, "I gave her time…and she spent every minute I gave her with Matt, Elena…I knew being a Vampire would be hard for our relationship but she's completely forgotten we were ever together…at least that's how it seems…she doesn't spend time preparing while we have a breathing space…she spends it with him. Training him or tutoring him…or something…I can't help but feel that me being turned into a Vampire by Klaus has a purpose…and it's more than causing friction."

"We have enough friction alone," Elena soothed in a sisterly fashion, "between Matt spending time with Bonnie and Caroline spending time with Tyler…there's a gulf between us all…I just…I can't get rid of this idea that something bad is coming Jeremy…it's like when we knew Giuseppe was coming back, except this time it isn't so much a dark shroud falling across the town as some evil building up beyond Mystic Falls – and I think it's Klaus…or at least something to do with him," Elena caught Jeremy's look and understood, "you…get some rest or…whatever it is you need to do." Jeremy nodded and left her to her own devices.

_Sometimes I wonder if my parents could see me what they would think of how I've grown up, what they'd think about me dating a Vampire…_

Her thoughts trailed away as she strained to hear sounds downstairs – she thought she'd heard a noise. She opened the door to her room and scanned the landing – Jeremy had gone, she could see the curtains flapping in his window – and contented with that moved to the stairs, half-sprinting down them until she stopped at the bottom step, scanning the living room for any signs of life. "Anyone down here?" she didn't know why she called out or why anyone ever did – if there was an intruder they weren't likely to do something.

She could smell something though? Was that coffee? At, she looked at the clock and regretted it, 01:55 AM. She walked toward the kitchen and froze and for a moment and she was transported back years. Jenna stood at the counter, her leaf-in-fall coloured hair cascading down her back perfectly while she made coffee – it was all she was good at making, it was universally accepted Jenna had not been made to be the perfect housewife – and she'd turn around, Jeremy and Elena's mugs already filled and prepared to order and before they all left they'd have a nice little chat. Sun might be streaming through the window while they discussed plans for the day and lost track of time. Then they'd all realize that they were hopelessly late and run out the door in a rush.

"Jeremy's changed," Jenna murmured from her spot at the coffee pot, she turned around and smiled that same reassuring familial smile Elena had known so well for years, "he seems so _hungry_ to enjoy new experiences around the world, he has this…this thirst for knowledge, to explore and to see everything you know what I mean?" Elena lunged for the draw pulling it out and grabbing a knife but before she hat time to even use the knife she had in her hand and plunge it into Jenna's ribcage Jenna had crossed the room and snapped the knife roughly in two dropping it to the floor. "Surprised to see me?"

"I didn't invite you-"

"-in?" Jenna finished confidently, "Sweetie I already died once, I'm not really here – or at least not yet, which means any of the laws you thought applied to me no longer do," she smiled sweetly at Elena, "now why don't we have a nice little chat?"

"About what?" Elena dared.

"About being a family, _silly_."

.

"If you want to hunt with me then you'll run errands with me," Damon snarled under his breath as he turned onto the track that led deeper into the woods – he just hoped that they'd be coming back along that same track in no time at all, "besides you'll get to see your ex-girlfriend, doesn't that sound like fun?" Jeremy just gave him a reproachful look, despite his youth as a Vampire he still resented being treated as the baby, much less being treated as a minor in a world of majors – it somehow made him feel so incredibly small and uncomfortable to the point of madness. Not that he'd cross Damon – he wasn't that hurt or stupid.

"Why are we meeting them anyway? Don't they want to leave here – I mean last time they decided to stick around instead of leaving they got rounded up and killed," Jeremy could remember all too well the first few deaths of the Vampires followed by the cull of them, Damon would have died that day too if it weren't for Elena and Stefan, "besides why do we need to speak to them? Don't we have the home advantage or something?"

"Just shut up," Damon turned to him and pulled the car to a halt, "let me do the talking and don't for a second react to anything going on around you, before you've thought it I've seen it, before you've heard it I've acted to counter it, before you lock eyes on the threat it will be eliminated and cold in the ground – you're simply here for the unlikely event that they want a new chew toy," Damon paused grinning at Jeremy, "that was a _joke_."

The house loomed out of the darkness like the home of Old Man Smith or Jones or any variant of the villain in a Scooby Doo cartoon, its was a tall thin building, dilapidated with shutters hanging off their hinges and smashed windows and at its peak Jeremy was almost sure he saw Bats circling, silently swooping through the night to snare their unsuspecting pray. He shivered as he thought of the bad connotations of that metaphor and instinctively swung his head around defensively to ensure that there was nobody boxing them in from behind.

The first Vampire that greeted them was Anna's mother, her eyes razor-like cutting through the both of them as they crossed the threshold, at odds with her warm smile – she was, Jeremy realized belatedly trying to spook them, and clearly with him it had worked, Damon remained effortlessly cool and collected, that was something Jeremy would have to learn how to do because at the moment he was sure that he looked as if he was running scared.

"It's a pleasure to entertain you Damon," Pearl greeted in her soft tones, "and a new member for your little clique, how quaint."

"Two new members," Damon reminded with an edge to his voice that seemed to wash over Pearl, she clearly remembered how to be politely civil, Damon had lost them somewhere in the past century or so, "a boy and a girl, if we were rabbits we'd have a hell of a lot of baby rabbits running around – but let's cut to the chase Pearl."

"Of course, would you care to come through to the Drawing Room, care for a _drink_?" Jeremy followed her and Damon through to the edge of the Drawing Room and he could see a small collection of young teenagers – Cheerleaders and Jocks mostly he noticed sitting in a relaxed fashion drinking alcohol spread out across the room: clearly the Town Vampires were planning on having a party, Jeremy almost considered joining in until he received a warning glance from Damon.

"We're here to talk business Pearl – why are you staying in Town and what do you want from us to keep a peace between us?" Damon quizzed with very real interest though he didn't admit it.

She smiled, "Direct and to the point as always, a guarantee of our safety from the Werewolf and the Witch you keep company with, you don't interfere in our affairs and we won't interfere in yours."

"No feeding from the town," Damon said casting a glance towards the assembled group of living, breathing food, "we don't want any unwarranted attention – any attention actually, you hunt anywhere but here understand?"

"Perfectly, if you can guarantee you won't interfere then we won't destabilize things here."

"Why are you staying here?" Jeremy asked, receiving a fiery look from Damon, everything happened very quickly after that, Damon had Pearl gripped into a headlock, she was in the process of twisting his arm and snapping it and then they both stopped and straightened up, Jeremy turned around and saw Anna standing in the doorway.

"Because it's safer," she said as though it was the most simple thing, she moved into the living room and clicked her fingers, at that point the teenagers there collected sprang to their feet and filed out of the house casually, leaving the four Vampires alone together, "your terms are accepted Damon, Jeremy's intrusions are not. Beyond saying that we are staying here because it is safe we would prefer to say nothing."

"Sure," Damon said, swiftly stepping away from Pearl, "if you're in trouble, just die, okay?"

He grabbed Jeremy roughly by the shoulder and steered him out of the house and back to their car, he half-threw Jeremy into the passenger seat and then slipped into his side, "You know I should kill you myself but one, Elena hated me for a long time the last time that I killed you…even though you did come back to life afterwards and two your little stunt actually helped back there."

"It did?" Jeremy quizzed as they pulled out of the yard.

"I know they're scared – which means we have something to be scared off." Damon punched him on the arm in what would have shattered a normal human arm, in Jeremy it just left a ringing pain, "Don't do anything like that again."

.

"Stefan will be here any minute Jenna," Elena said, unsure whether her Aunt, now a Vampire would discern that she was lying through her teeth – it was at least a realistic lie, why wouldn't she have her boyfriend over – also a Vampire – to her House, "and he's older than you, and you should really leave. I mean it Jenna."

"Please," she said laughing confidently with a tinge of menace, "nobody's coming for you Elena, and even if he did you're too emotionally attached to me to let Stefan kill me, besides that presumes that he could overpower me, he might have been older than me once but he hasn't been killed either, there was a lot of powerful, residual magic in my body when I died Elena," she flashed her fangs malevolently, "I'm more powerful than your boyfriend ever will be."

"And what do you mean _family _Jenna? Ric? He already has one Vampire ex-wife terrorizing him, like he'd run back to his ex-girlfriend," she wasn't sure why she was taunting Jenna other than to try and get in command of the situation, or at least on an equal footing with her, "or maybe you met a guy when you went to the other side and fell in love – you can't have kids Jenna, you're a Vampire."

Jenna had remained completely disinterested throughout the entire rant, examining various objects littered about the kitchen, "The wonder of magic Elena, I'm going to have lots of children, but I can't leave you children here all alone, Jeremy needs guidance more than other know he's a Vampire and you Elena, well you're a doppelganger, and isn't that a rare commodity," she crossed the room and reached out to stroke Elena's chin but Elena jerked her head away warily, "such a shame Elena."

"Why a family when you know you're going back?" Elena quizzed, pulling further away and manoeuvring around the kitchen to try and put distance between herself and Jenna, Jenna however anticipated this and in a flash was in front of Elena again, blocking her escape route to the front door.

She grinned, "There are so many things you don't understand Elena, yet anyway, and in time you'll come to recognize them, suffice it to say that if I form a physical bond to the living world then I can remain here, and so can _he_."

"Who's he? John?" she quizzed, she had remembered seeing him draw up in the car that day, going of with Isobel and Stefan, and now she was wondering where he had been in the midst of the chaos? She hadn't seen him since that time and it had only just occurred to him that there were more than enough Vampires, Werewolves and Witches that wanted him dead that had passed through Mystic Falls that he was probably already cold and dead in the ground.

"Please your father? Why would I marry my brother Elena, my husband, my _King_ is far more powerful," she looked over Elena's expression, "you are concerned for your father? He is still alive, and in a foolish bid to discover more about how we came back, he will not find sympathy from those who he is seeking information from, in fact I think he's going to end up dead Elena, again. And if Isobel doesn't kill him I certainly will."

"Jenna how did you come back – you can't expect me to believe that you just came through the veil because it was opened, spirits don't just leave, otherwise every time someone died then you'd all just flood through the temporary hole wouldn't you?" Elena nudged, she needed to know now, regardless of whether Jenna was about to kill her or not, she needed to know why this was happening, and now.

"It was Klaus Elena, it always was." There was a rush of air and Jenna disappeared as the front door opened, admitting Damon and Jeremy into the House, both seemed alert –they had caught Jenna's scent before she left the house, they sprinted into the kitchen and found Elena, standing awkwardly and uncomfortably.

"Did she hurt you?" Damon had her wrapped up in his arms and crying into his chest before she knew what was happening, Jeremy went to the back door and Damon stuck out his hand, "Don't go after her," he whispered into Elena's ear, "it's okay…just breathe."

.

"Guess you were pretty feral," Tyler said grinning as Caroline rolled off him onto the other side of the bed, taking deep breaths and occasionally giggling girlishly, "if I'd have known that Vampires were so good I'm not sure I'd have waited so long to go after you."

Caroline rolled back on top of him placing a finger on his lips, "One, I told you I was in love with you so I get all the credit for the amazing sex we just had," she grinned, "second you were pretty fierce too," she removed her finger and pecked him lightly on the lips and then found herself opening her mouth and forcing her tongue into his, she stroked at his muscular chest and rolled onto her back allowing him on top of her and then she felt a bolt of lightning shoot through her and this time it wasn't coming from a part of Tyler's body, "hold still," she said parting her lips regretfully from his, "I thought I heard something."

"It was nothing," Tyler reassured kissing her again and this time she through the Werewolf off her and sprang to her feet, creeping to the door, she sprang back an instant before it blew of its hinges and she leapt across the room, landing in a defensive stance on the opposite side of the room, "or maybe it was," he said getting to his feet and dropping beside Katherine on the opposite side of the bed, "what do you want?"

"To talk Tyler," Jules murmured from the doorway, she had a pistol in her hand, loaded presumably with wooden bullets and was pointing it at Caroline though she wasn't holding it as confidently as she used to – something had really spooked her, "if your Vampire friend over there will let me."

"Five minutes." Caroline replied domineeringly, she didn't want the Werewolf to have time to trap them if that was her intention – this could all be a distraction for the real attack, and she didn't want to risk having someone sneaking up on her, she allowed part of herself to remain there in the room, the rest of her extended, searching the Lockwood Mansion for any other sign of the danger, just in case her hunch about this Werewolf being a lying bitch bore fruit.

Jules nodded appreciatively, "I…Tyler…I want to be here to help you, mentor you through your changes at the time of the Full Moon, help you get it under control once you turn, I mean don't you remember, when you left with me we were so happy? We could get to that again – I mean we'd stay here obviously so you could be with your friends and besides I'm…I'm tired with running…I have to make a stand somewhere…and somehow here it seems as if you've tied everyone together – Vampires, Werewolves and Witches – you work as a unit…and…I'd like to be a part of it."

"What are you so afraid off?" Caroline asked, ignoring Tyler…it wasn't specifically his choice to make whether a new Werewolf joined them in Mystic Falls.

"Klaus is building…some kind of army…like he had before, only this time it's so much more than that…he's looking for the ability to become a Witch, to make himself truly invincible, as a hybrid whether he admits it or not he's vulnerable to specialized types of magic," Jules said quietly and calmly, "I want to help you fight him and his informers."

.

"She was shaken up?" Stefan quizzed, handing a Scotch to Damon.

"Badly, Jenna's spooked her…I think it's all about Klaus coming back, last time Klaus tried it with Elena…now he and Jenna can actually do it," the painful memory flashed before their eyes, "she's normally stronger than this…do you think?"

"Things aren't that bad, yet." Stefan rejected definitely.

"There might be a time when she needs to turn Stefan, could you do it?" Damon prodded, "Because if you can't then is it best to keep with her Stefan, because some day she will become old and decrepit and you have to question whether you could deal with that, seeing her grow old and then die?"

.

Hope you liked Chapter 6,

Reviews welcomed and appreciated,

Chapter 7 up soon,

Acrobat

X


	7. Chapter 7

**The Vampire Diaries**

"That's good Matt just focus, feel the energy from the candles and the water and the earth – from the elements," Bonnie counselled calmly, lying cross-legged in a mirror position of him in the living room of her house, "just relax, let the magic aid you, don't treat it as a tool but as an ally, something to be respected but also something to be used for good." Matt nodded almost imperceptibly as he stretched out his hands as if searching for invisible pillars to grasp a hold off, Bonnie risked a glance with her right eye and spotted the things levitating around the room, he was learning: fast.

Using magic felt uplifting as though a great and good energy had filled him from top to bottom and was coaching him in how best to proceed, how to use his new found talent and it was coming…easily…it took a lot of concentration, he was pretty sure he didn't sweat this much unless he was really working out hard, and he also felt smarter, more alert, more attentive to his surroundings, more attuned to life in general. He could feel changes in things like the weather or sense the movements of people beyond the House, his senses had been magnified beyond all reality.

"Alright now just come out of cleanly, I'm here to help if you get into trouble." Bonnie murmured. Slowly Matt relinquished his grasp on the greater reality and drew back into himself – or as much as he could, he had never been the same since that night in the woods…everything had changed about him, he wasn't a stupid Jock anymore…he was…a smarter-than-average-Jock/Witch or something like that anyway. He could feel objects around him coming back to his ground and then he opened his eyes and he was back in the living room with Bonnie and everything was real again. Bonnie bent and picked up a candle on its side, righting it, "That was pretty…impressive." She laughed.

"Thank you," Matt said as they got up and walked into the kitchen of the house, "I'm not sure what I'd do without you to guide me through this all…it's pretty intimidating but…at the same time amazing…I think I'd just end up lost if I wasn't being taught how to do it right…or you know cast spells or…what even are we doing?"

"Just using magic," Bonnie replied, "this is sort of like Childs play…it's a lot harder when it comes to doing stuff like summoning fire or a locator spell…that'll take a whole other world's practice, but you'll get there eventually," she handed him an apple which he hungrily bit into, "and you _will_ need to learn that stuff, if Klaus is back like Elena said then we'll need all the help we can get." She paused for a moment as she turned to get a glass of water, filling the glass three quarters of the way and then putting it down on the work surface and regarding him as he methodically took chunks out of the apple.

"Have you spoken to Caroline since what happened at the Grill?" Bonnie enquired.

"I text her like twice but she hasn't replied…I guess she's doing her thing and I'm doing mine."

Bonnie nodded, she'd presumed that Matt and Caroline were moving toward a relationship again…now that they'd been through so much together, and clearly she'd misjudged the situation. Or something else had changed; perhaps Caroline had misinterpreted what they were doing together. She liked Matt but just because he was a Witch now too didn't necessarily preclude that they were going to end up together, she hadn't even decided where she stood on Jeremy as a Vampire…other than that a relationship with a Vampire, especially a young one would be volatile, especially since she was a Witch herself – Caroline and Matt had hardly stood the test of time together when Matt was just a normal human.

"Have you spoken to Tyler?"

"Nope," Matt replied, tossing his core into the trash can, "I've only really spoken to you…Stefan and Damon seem…wary of me…Elena is…wrapped up with them and Jeremy…Caroline and Tyler are doing their own thing…I only seem to end up seeing you."

"Matt," Bonnie said increasing distance between them by seemingly innocently crossing the room turned on her heel to face him from there, "what we're doing here is just me showing you the ropes you know? There's nothing…nothing in it is there? I mean we're just friends and I'm just helping you out, as a _friend_, right now we don't want to complicate things anymore than they already are by relationships that neither of us wants or needs right?"

"Sure," Matt said bobbing his head almost uncertainly.

"I mean it isn't that I don't like you like that…that I couldn't someday…it's just…everything is so-"

"-messed up?" Matt quizzed.

"Exactly." Bonnie murmured in a deadpan voice.

.

"So you called me to show you a stray you took in?" Damon mocked as he caught sight of Jules sat, not looking in the slightest intimidated by a Vampire who she could be sure desired very much to kill her, and crossed the threshold of the house, lingering at the edge of the living room, surveying the disposition of people. Tyler and Caroline were sat awkwardly on the same sofa – they were clearly sleeping together, Damon could read them like an open book – and that just left Elena, closing the door behind him.

"She wants to help us, and she…she says," she caught sight of his sceptical look, "she _claims_ to know what Klaus is planning."

"Why call me and not Stefan?" Damon prompted.

"I needed your viewpoint," she replied calmly, "are you gonna listen to her or walk straight out the door?" Damon reluctantly sank into the only other available armchair as Elena stood opposite the sofa, between the two opposing forces of the supernatural world, she felt curiously vulnerable between the two of them – sometimes being a human really did lack advantages, especially if you spent all your available time around Vampires and Werewolves and Witches.

"Klaus wants to become a Witch, he's assembling an Army and he's using them to search for something or some things…things that are _very_ powerful, magically-speaking," Jules murmured calmly, "there a group of special talismans that were formed across the Ancient World to combat demonic spirits."

"Like Jeremy?" Elena interjected.

"Yeah…except the Witches who created them didn't realize that they'd basically created super-weapons…in the right hands they could do great things…make the fields fertile, bring rains in a drought, defeat an enemy threatening you…at the same time they could commit a great many evils if used in the wrong hands…famine, disease, natural disasters," Jules continued in her controlled tones, she clearly was not enjoying being in the presence of two Vampires, even if she had assurances that they wouldn't attack her, "Klaus is looking for them."

"And how do we find them?" Damon enquired imperiously.

"I don't know," he rolled his eyes, "I'm not a Witch Damon, I wouldn't know how to go about finding anything magical – I suggest you talk to your Witches, before Klaus gets to them anyway, he wants any information he can get about them."

"Do you…did you find out on the other side why Klaus married my Aunt Jenna?" Elena diverged, she had an unsettling feeling that Jules knew a lot from the other side that might frighten her, shock her, but still she need to know what the Werewolf knew. If it was something that could return Jenna to their side then she would do it, she would have to.

Jules shrugged, "From what I understand from the Witches I met beyond the veil Elena if Klaus has married Jenna then it will have a purpose, the Talisman would never function for someone who acted alone, it was a kind of magical failsafe – a limit, since it presumed that most evil people would work alone it could trace emotional bonds, a mistress rather than a wife, it supposed that if there was love then it could only be a good relationship because love is inherently a positive thing…it's…I didn't understand it all Elena. This is just the basics of it."

Elena nodded toward the hallway and Damon mirrored her, they hovered at the periphery, confident that the others couldn't hear them. Then Elena gestured to the kitchen…mildly more private…less chance that Jules might overhear them discussing her credentials and whether she was trustworthy or likely a convert of the new cause.

"What do you think?"

"I think she's a Werewolf Elena, one that killed Rose and tried to kill me," he said simply and plainly – she couldn't critique his ruthless honesty, "and we killed her boyfriend, twice. That isn't exactly a recipe for someone to suddenly help us, unless she suddenly wants it all to be over Elena but…something about this doesn't ring true…Tyler vouches for her but he's…young and naïve Elena. And Caroline's only vouching for her because she's in love with Tyler."

Elena frowned, "What do we do then Damon? I'd rather we didn't push her away."

"She can stay in the area…I'll…I'll quiz Pearl about what she knows…the Town Vampires were a lot better versed in this, you…see if Sheila Bennett matches the story," he shrugged, "but otherwise just stay away from her, and have someone stay here to watch over you Elena, if what she says about the family thing is true and it's a hell of an _if_ Elena, he'll want you at his side with Jenna."

Elena nodded, "Okay let's go tell them."

Elena strolled into the living room – Tyler was lying unconscious on the couch and Caroline lay sprawled on the floor, her arms outstretched as though she'd flung herself across the room to attack someone, and there was blood splattered across the armchair were Jules had been sitting, Damon stiffened at her side, "Wait…Elena there's still someone-", Damon's voice cut out as the fist smashed into Elena's Temple and she sailed across the room, smashing into the wall her vision obscured by blood on the oncoming embrace of unconsciousness.

.

"Drink?" Stefan asked, breezing into the house fresh from his hunt with Jeremy feeling somehow invigorated…having a younger Vampire around really put your age in perspective – not that it was really possible for him to get _tired, _but Jeremy had been…making leaps and bounds throughout their little trip into the woods, he then realized how stupid the human expression had been…Jeremy didn't need a drink anymore – not that they had anything more than Scotch and blood at the Salvatore House that is.

"He'll be fine," Katherine murmured as she breezed effortlessly into the room, she dropped an unconscious Jeremy to the floor at her feet, "you really need to train them better Stefan – he was sloppy, all fly at me across the room and try and drop me to the floor…then again that always was your specialty wasn't it?" She perched on the side of the work surface, crossing her legs over and relaxing.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan prompted, turning toward her, he wanted to drop to Jeremy's side to check him over but he was sure Katherine wanted something, and that meant not antagonizing Stefan, not at first anyway, "I thought Isobel took you?"

"She tried to," Katherine looked at her nails as though it was the most mundane conversation, "I'm older than her, and smarter, I offloaded her to someone with links to Klaus, I expect she's probably dead by now…or more likely working for him. Klaus wants me dead, again, and I'd like to return the favour to him this time."

Stefan regarded her – he wasn't entirely sure was she was radiating confidence and resolute control, Klaus was a very real threat…quite possibly impervious to anything they could do to him and if he wasn't already he would soon have a league of loyal followers. He thought through the possibilities of who they could actually get to work with them against Klaus in the great scheme of things – there was a chance that the Town Vampires (those that had stayed in Mystic Falls) might assist them, otherwise they were on their own and that wasn't very good odds. In fact the relative youth of Jeremy as a Vampire, coupled with Matt's inexperience as a Witch gave them two worrying liabilities.

"Tonight Klaus is going to return to the exact sight were he formed his transformation, he is going to take part in a spell whose end result will make him a Witch in addition to being a Werewolf and a Vampire, anyone who was dead and returned will at that point revert to the veil and die again, I plan on being there to ensure that Klaus goes through too, whether he's willing or not," Katherine smiled, it was an unsettlingly warm display, "unfortunately to do that I need someone to distract his bodyguards," she playfully ran her fingers along Stefan's chest before he batted them away, "it's what we both want, and you aren't taking the risk since you're there to defeat him too."

"Why should I trust you?" Stefan quizzed, Katherine was intrinsically evil, but also intrinsically self-serving, if she was in danger she would protect herself and this plan involved an awful lot of risk to her personally, the bodyguard excuse was almost, almost believable, but Stefan had been duped one too many times – Katherine was lying through her teeth about this plan there was something else, he lunged forward, grabbing her by the neck and pinning her against the wall, "What's the real plan Katherine, use us as bait?"

She threw him back off her and looked at him, her fangs drawn and her face creased in anger this time, "And I'd so hoped it wouldn't come to this Stefan, the truth is that Klaus quite highly valued you as a lieutenant, and losing you…that was so very hard for him, especially when you killed him the first time, a short spell in the underworld tends to make people lose what little sense they have left, Klaus is mad Stefan, and more importantly he's mad at you. Isobel wanted to bring me to Klaus, but I gave him a counter-offer, telling him that I could get him you, Damon, Elena and all your other little friends. I'm sorry Stefan, but if getting away from Klaus is giving you to him, I'm not going to hesitate."

"He'll kill you," Stefan snarled at her, "once he has us he'll kill you."

Katherine turned to take him down and then collapsed to the floor, clutching at her head, Matt and Bonnie hovered at the doorway, Stefan nodded in greeting as Matt dropped to the floor, passing his hands over Jeremy murmuring a spell to bring him back to consciousness, Bonnie turned to look at Stefan, her face urgent, "They killed my Grams," Bonnie said calmly, she seemed unaffected by the loss the second time it had happened to her, Stefan admired her fortitude, "she knew something of use to them I think – it was a Witch and two Werewolves which attacked our house Stefan, I guessed the Vampire would come here."

"They'll be at the site of the ceremony by now," Stefan continued, "and we're going to take Katherine with us."

.

"You seem scared my dear," Klaus murmured to Jenna, settled on a rock looking toward the site of her own death, "is it because the last time you were here I killed you?"

"Bad memories," Jenna affirmed, smiling devilishly as she got up from her seat and leaned into a kiss with her husband, she pulled away, "it'll be good to be a family again at last, with Jeremy and Elena I mean dearest."

"Magical." Klaus nodded.

"Are you sure about this ritual, you have no control over it, you are very…trusting of your Witches," she murmured, disguising her nervousness, "how can you e sure of their loyalty in your time of need, they could for all you know conduct the wrong spell and have you killed!"

"They are loyal because they are scared," he said, kissing her tenderly on the lips, "just as you are loyal because you are terrified my dear, you guard it well – that much is true, but there is a scent to you, one can tell instantly that you are not at ease around me, or when we are intimate together, you are even terrified at the thought of carrying our child," he stroked at her protruding stomach, "it will not be long now my sweet, and then I will relieve you of your duties and you will die with everyone else.

"Sweet Jenna, you were so desperate once to win my favour, is it because you thought that you would come back to this world and remain here, with whatever tenuous link you have left to Elena, Jeremy and your sweet if…rather dull Alaric? The truth is Elena and Jeremy have never been better than since you left them, you failed them so completely as a parent it is a wonder you even entertained the possibility that I might let you care for one of mine, there are far better people waiting in the wings to ensure a safe, swift childhood – not that they really need ensure it. Any child of mine will be a ruthless weapon in my hands.

"You will die Jenna, when all the others do. You were so desperate to ensure that I understood how loyal you were, how much you loved and adored me – you gave the game away by making the effort to love and adore someone who could never cause either emotion in anyone, devotion and loyalty perhaps, but not love or adoration, I am a ruthless cold killer Jenna, how could you ever think I wouldn't see through your pitiful act." He struck her sharply across the face and then turned as Maddox emerged out of the darkness, followed by a grinning Greta.

"The sight is prepared," Maddox murmured in his low tone, "what would you have us do?"

"Does it require two Witches Maddox?"

"No…a single one can perform the necessary magic."

"Perfect," in a fluid moment Klaus plucked Maddox's heart from his chest and tossed it into the trees, watching as the grown man looked at the hole in his chest and pitched forward, "tonight I shall become a God."

.

Hope you liked Chapter 7,

8 up soon,

Acrobat

X

Reviews and responses welcome!


	8. Chapter 8

**The Vampire Diaries**

"I really like the whole Dracula's Castle feel you have going on here," Damon murmured drily as they shuffled – the Vervain laced bonds were making walking difficult, running impossible, "no seriously, I mean if I were a human I'd be real intimidated, I'd probably curl up into a ball and scream," there was still no response from their retinue of guards – a mixture of Werewolves and Vampires as far as he could tell, "and who said Vampires lack a sense of humour?"

The cavernous throne-room, that was at least what Elena could think of it as, there were after all two thrones set upon a dais at the back of the room, was relatively plain in comparison to the lavishly decorated corridors that they'd been led through, winding gradually deeper and deeper into the ground. She still had little real idea where they were, she'd been knocked out and she'd woken up in darkness, Damon lying seemingly incapacitated next to her, her head resting on his chest – that had been a shock to wake up to. If he'd been human she'd have heard his reassuring heart beat instead there had been only silence.

"Damon, Elena," Klaus greeted warmly – that wasn't unusual at least, "a pleasure to entertain you here, in my humble abode," he grinned and his fangs slipped out, Elena had the worrying premonition of him drinking her blood but fortunately for her he retracted them, "your friends are being attended to elsewhere – they will be the _bait_," Elena raised an eyebrow at that, "intrigued my dear? It's simple really – I spent a long time with Stefan and know exactly how he think and how he reacts, he and that Witch friend of yours will be worried, they will come rushing to the rescue of the Werewolf and the Vampires only to be embattled themselves and killed by my superior forces."

"Where's Jenna?" Elena called out – she'd expected to see her Aunt represented here somehow.

"Attending to the children," greeted Isobel briskly, striding into the room purposefully from one of the attached rooms, "you have two cousins Elena, well…I suppose they're not really your cousins since you were adopted are they? _Shame_, and they were so looking forward to meeting you, at least it'll be nice for Jeremy to have someone to relate to…that is of course unless he's killed in the fighting first. Damon, always a delight to see you in the company of my daughter."

"What are you planning," Damon quizzed, his eyes bulging with intrigue, "I mean you're going to kill us anyway so what's the point in leaving us in the dark?"

"Although it might not be clear to you Damon there is an entire bureaucracy spanning the world, a bureaucracy of this world in which we live," Isobel murmured distractedly, watching Klaus to see whether she had said too much, "once the originals regulated everything, across the continents – if people were to betray us they were killed, though it was expected that for self preservation more than anything Vampires would adapt to the need to cover up for themselves. Mystic Falls happens to be a particular trouble spot – and since the new order is being formed around Klaus he doesn't want any more trouble spots. Every supernatural being remaining in Mystic Falls is going to die tomorrow night."

"So why do you need Elena?" Damon prompted and Isobel looked rumbled, Klaus fired her a cautionary look and Isobel retreated back the way she had entered the room, disappearing into the anteroom, leaving Elena and Damon alone with Klaus, the guards blending worryingly into the backdrop, barely present silhouettes stationery, watching and processing everything that passed between the three people they were watching.

"Because a doppelganger holds special properties which I can exploit once my takeover is assured, certain magical properties that are particularly important, it means that she is potentially more powerful than me or you, Damon, more powerful than a Witch or any other supernatural – she's a ticking time bomb and I just have to figure out what makes the bomb go _boom_." Elena squirmed as Klaus advanced upon her, Damon determined to block his route toward her but thought better of it – he would be more use to her alive than staked, since it seemed that Klaus didn't actually need Damon for very much.

"She's a lab rat," Damon replied boldly as Klaus circled, aware that he was preparing to drink her blood, "what do you have to test on her?"

Klaus grinned malevolently, "The most powerful tools of sorcery, the Alexandria Talismans."

Damon's face creased in confusion – he didn't recognize the name or the significance of Alexandria – were the Egyptians particularly renowned spell casters? Bonnie had normally sufficed as a point of reference on Witch lore: regardless if they were the most powerful tools of sorcery then they were probably akin to super-weapons: in the wrong hands.

.

"Why are we in his house?" Matt whispered to Bonnie as they crossed the threshold into the Salvatore House – although to Matt's mind _Mansion_ had always been a more accurate way to describe the humble abode where Damon and Stefan lived at the edge of the woods, Bonnie moved to silence him but realized Stefan had already heard what Matt had said before they'd sat down on the sofa.

"Because it's safer than any of the other houses," replied a voice and they jerked their heads toward where it had come from – Sheila Bennett stepped down onto the same level as the two Vampires and two Witches, crossing to the centre of the room, "this house has magic in its foundations – it'll be a much better place to fight Klaus and his cohorts on an even playing field. It's also further away from innocents who might be caught in the crossfire."

"Not that you'll be doing much fighting." Stefan stated simply and she nodded.

"Myself and Matthew will be coordinating a shield charm over the house and the surrounding woodland, the spells of his Witches won't obey them once they are inside the bubble – it means a fair number of his Witches may be taken down before they get near enough to do any damage, perhaps the same is true of the Werewolves and Vampires," Matt's face had degenerated into a crease of panic, "you," she said looking at Stefan, "Jeremy and Bonnie will need to protect the House."

"And me," Katherine murmured, returning from the kitchen, a glass of blood in her hand which she sipped at, "this stuff's stale Stefan, you really need to learn how to entertain your guests better."

"When will they be here," Matt quizzed, "I mean shouldn't we run or something…or get help?"

"From who?" Katherine laughed malevolently, "Oh sweet Matt, Elena really missed a trick with you, the Town Vampires were all dead when I got to them."

"She's lying," Bonnie said fixing Katherine with a piercing stare and she dropped to the floor clutching at her head as Bonnie intensified the aneurism, "she killed some of them."

"Why would you do that?" Stefan asked.

"Because," Katherine said through gritted teeth at a wave of Stefan's hand Bonnie relented for a few seconds, "they were going to take us to Klaus, and I'd rather go down fighting than to a Werewolf bite – not that any of them will be particularly dangerous tonight, the full Moon is a whole two weeks away." She replied confidently.

"Don't be overconfident," Stefan rebuked, "Klaus can change it will, there's every possibility he'll have passed on the trick to the Werewolves…if we're going it alone that makes you and I the heavy hitters, Jeremy you just protect Bonnie so that she can cast uninterrupted," Bonnie shot him a reproachful look but he shook his head, "you're powerful Bonnie but it doesn't mean you're invincible, besides in the midst of the battle the brute strength of a young Vampire will be useful…even if Klaus will know that we have you."

"Does he know about Matthew?" Sheila enquired, putting a hand to her temple.

"Possibly," Katherine replied disinterestedly, "also I think he's here…or nearly anyway."

Stefan was about to ask why when he heard it, he could hear the movement of animals, the woodland creatures of all kinds trickling away from the woods – heading anywhere, just running away in order to escape from the oncoming arrival of Klaus and his supporters: they were wise. Stefan could hear the movement and he was instantly more apprehensive of the coming battle, he was relatively sure that Jeremy was going to wind up dead in the course of it – he hadn't been taught to fight by anyone and in truth, he'd asked him to bodyguard Bonnie so she could protect him – he knew Elena was never going to forgive him for getting his brother killed but Jeremy would only have come bolting out of the house if he thought they were in trouble. He was half hoping Katherine might be killed in the furore but knowing her she would sneak through somehow – she probably already had her elaborate escape plan finalized.

"We should get ready." Stefan mused and the others nodded.

"Myself and Matthew will stay here, once you leave we will enchant the doors so no supernatural creature may enter," Stefan nodded and at that moment had a wonder as to whether he should tell Jeremy to remain in the house and then decided against that, that would just give them a rebellious, juvenile Vampire to try and organize – not a distraction they needed on the eve of battle, "are you sure that this is what you want to do Stefan?"

"There isn't anything else to do, if we ran we'd just have to confront the problem later when we were more tired," she nodded and turned to Matt, talking to him in hushed tones, Bonnie moved toward him and hovered next to him, "just do your best with him Bonnie, that's all we can do, for Elena's sake."

.

Stefan circled back around from the west and ran into Katherine, looking suitably worried – then he'd been right, Klaus was almost on top of them, Jeremy and Bonnie were back closer toward the house, and Stefan could tell he was close to the magical envelope being thrown around the Salvatore House by Sheila Bennett and Matt, the air was almost tingling with magic such was the power of the spell thrown around them and he was almost certain Bonnie was putting something more potent into the charm too.

"There about a mile out Stefan," Katherine grinned at him unsettlingly, "time to see what you're really made of." Stefan didn't say anything but retraced his footsteps round to the south of the Salvatore House, Katherine would cover the north while Jeremy and Bonnie hovered closer to the house. He could make out the dark shapes stalking amongst the trees – at least they were human in form shapes, clearly Klaus hadn't figured out how to turn Wolves when it wasn't the full moon. The first Vampires drew up short and Stefan made out one or two Witches amongst them who moved forward and then crossed through where the barrier was drawn without much difficult, they raised their hands toward him but nothing happened, instead Stefan saw the Witches drop to the ground their heads pulsing and then saw blood drip out of their ears and noses as their bodies shook on the floor before suddenly going still, dead. The spell had worked at least.

The first Vampire that came at Stefan regretted it – he was young and was sent in two parts flying behind him as Stefan snapped his head clear at the neck, he dropped to the floor for the second, snapping a branch and driving it through the Vampire's heart as a make-shift stake, the third, fourth and fifth were more cautious still, they tried a pincer movement but that failed, Stefan dropped to the floor and grabbed the other part of the fallen branch, snapping it and hurling them out, dropping 3 and 5, which left Vampire Number Four. Four was a girl, streaked blonde hair over natural brunette who moved confidently but somehow with a little reserve towards him, at the last moment she sprang and Stefan caught her, he snapped her neck and then hurled her head behind him as he moved beyond the defensive bubble – he needed to rescue the others.

He stalked past the Vampires and deeper into the woods, wary of the prowling Wolves that Klaus had clearly deployed as his sentries, moving deeper in the direction of what he could detect as the scent of Elena's blood – although that was a clearly a ploy he kept moving, aware that Katherine was shadowing him about a mile distance from him as they closed upon the clearing Klaus which Klaus had left much as he had the first time, as though nothing of import had happened. His new Witch Stefan spied was Asian, dressed in the traditional dress Kimono of a Geisha girl, complete with parasol and pale face, she bowed toward Klaus he noted as he crept around the clearing till he met Katherine, both of them blending amongst the trees.

"Do you see Elena?" Stefan quizzed.

Katherine nodded, "East corner, with the others," Elena, Damon, Caroline, Tyler and Jules waited, bound and all wounded watching the ceremony, Stefan moved to go toward them and Katherine shook her head, "let me distract him, you go." Stefan gave her a quizzical look – that was a suicide sentence and she knew it, Katherine never did anything unless there was something in it for her: however he put his concerns to the back of his head, he needed to get to Elena and save her, and he couldn't do that from the edge of the forest. He stalked toward them as Katherine moved towards Klaus, he could hear her voice float across the forest as she taunted Klaus but he ignored them and slipped behind the others. He unbound Elena and Damon first, then moved onto Caroline, Tyler and lastly Jules informing them silently not to move until Katherine acted.

"You know how much I love a good game Klaus, and I couldn't miss this you know, since I wasn't here the last time you became a hybrid? Aren't you worried you know, some day you'll look in a mirror and find that you aren't the person you thought you were," she grinned at him, "oh no, because you'll always be that same sad, twisted bastard who could never catch me or hold onto me for long enough in his plans could you? Catch me if you can Klaus. Game on." With that Katherine departed and Stefan was aware of all hell breaking loose around him, Klaus was yelling at the assembled Witches and Vampires and then he loosed a high-pitched howl – the sound of a Wolf. Stefan moved quickly through the woods, Elena gripping his hand tightly as they neared the Salvatore House. He was aware of time moving slowly. A big white wolf nearby ribbed apart two smaller brown ones, a dark Wolf that ran alongside them for a few minutes disappeared returning with two severely chewed Vampires in its mouth.

Stefan could see the house now and paused willing Elena toward the door, she crossed and slipped inside it, slamming it shut, he ran round to the garage and flung open the door, suddenly Damon was alongside him as Matt nudged the SUV out of the House, allowing the two Vampires to prepare everything inside. Elena sprinted outside and rapped her arms around Stefan's neck and kissed at him tenderly as there was the sound of an explosion somewhere close by and then Stefan was aware of a strange emerald green hue as the bubble unfurled above them and spells began smashing into the House, he urged Elena into the passenger's seat and spotted Damon stepping into the driver's seat and then turned to open the door to the seat behind Elena and stopped, and fell to the ground, the stake jutting out of his back.

.

"The ceremony was a success," Greta greeted compliantly; "you will be more powerful than ever before Klaus."

Klaus lifted his head toward a pickup that had just driven into the clearing, it paused and a teenager stepped out, crossing the room, Klaus could smell blood – and not human but Vampire, emanating from the truck and felt a sinking feeling, the person drew up, a knife in their hand, "I have a message from Katherine, she said that family is always the first to fall." The human promptly drove the stake into her heart and Klaus raced past her to the truck, unfurling the dead bodies of Jenna and his twins and then raced back to Greta.

"I am going on a trip Greta."

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Oh not you," he said, laying a hand upon her shoulder and impulsively drawing her of her magic, watching as she aged and her body rapidly degenerated into an emaciated husk, "you Greta were always a coward who never owed their true loyalty to me, now I shall dominate everything more than I have before, people will always fear me, the time for the Supernaturals to walk in the daylight has come Greta and I shall dominate them all," she was screaming now but it was only a formality she would be dead in less than a minute, "it is always a shame when I have to say goodbye to a lieutenant, but not when they are disloyal, perhaps Maddocks will be more accommodating, not that I really have need of him, other than as an informant now. I have power over everything and everyone."

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Hope you liked Chapter 8,

Not sure if there will be a 3rd in my TVD series…although clearly it's VERY open-ended,

Reviews and responses always welcome,

Acrobat

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